Behind White walls of Dice
by Thorngor-of-Ravencrest
Summary: After the BB murder cases, the misfit Reject finds herself back at Wammy's House, with her new found hope and friends, she strives to redeem herself in the eyes of L, but she will soon find even things of pure white, will the blackest of hearts OCxNxMatt
1. Chapter 1

Behind white walls of dice 1

_"you are not worthy of me"_

It was overwhelming…

Wammy's House had changed more then Reject ever realized. The orphans that taunted and pick on her had moved on and were replaced by a mess of new faces. Reject was determined to have them all memorized by the end of the week.

By the end of the day Reject was exhausted and the familiar aches and pains she had grown use to had returned and she couldn't be happier. Upon returning to her dorm she noticed her roommate was nowhere in sight.

She looked around and saw a strange, half-finished puzzle lying in the middle of the floor. I was completely white with no patterns or pictures to follow accept for a small black letter 'L' hidden in one of the finished corners.

Reject looked at it for a moment before checking around the room again to see her albino companion was anywhere to be seen. Reject sat down on the plush carpet looking over the puzzle and carefully plucked up one of the pieces and examined it.

It was nothing special, just your standard, garden variety jig-saw puzzle. She looked over at the puzzle again, it had been a while since Reject had done one but now for some reason she felt compelled to do it, to solve it.

Reject examined the rest of the puzzle looking over it carefully before placing the piece within it. When if fit she reached for another and place it in the correct spot and continued from that point on and before she new it the puzzle was solved.

Reject smiled down at the now finished puzzle feeling quite please with her accomplishment but then she heard the door to the room suddenly open behind her. She turned to see Near calmly and quietly enter the not bothering to spare a second glance at Reject as he did so.

"Oh hey Near, how's it going" Reject greeted him warmly with her usual stupid smile. Near's eyes did turn but not at Reject, but down at his newly completed puzzle and his eyes fixed themselves into a glare.

"Oh yeah, I kind'a finished your puzzle for you, I hope you mind-"

_SLAP!_

She heard it before she felt the burning, stinging pain across her cheek. She also found herself toppled over onto the ground and puzzle now crumbled to pieces and rearranged again.

Reject was so disoriented from the hit that it took her a few seconds to realize she was pushed up against the wall with something crushing throat. She opened her eyes to see a pale hand around her neck and a pair of piercing mirror eye boring into her.

"How dare you" Near spoke softly even though his actions were anything but soft. Reject thought she was going to pass out when suddenly grip on her neck was released and she collapsed on to the ground coughing and sputtering, trying desperately to suck in new oxygen.

"I-I'm…s-sorry…I d-didn't know…"

"SILENCE!"

Reject flinched at the harshness in the albino's voice as a pale finger came down to tilt her head upward to force her to look at the boy in the eyes.

"You are not worthy of me…know your place _Reject_ " Near hissed releasing Reject's chin before picking up his puzzled and walking out of the room leaving lying in a mass against the wall.

Even it was her name, it didn't feel he was calling her by it and soon the waterworks ran freely again as tears stinging her cheeks. She soon was able to calm herself down and get her mind straight.

_"'C'mon Reject what are you crying about? This kind of abuse is nothing compared to what BB use to do to you! Toughen up! That kid's probably younger then you! He has no right to push you around! BUCK UP!"_

Reject quickly wiped her eyes and stood up confidently. She hopped up on her bed and laid back slipping on her headphones.

_iYour havin a midlife crisis tying to get where I've been  
Well if you want 'em that bad Ms.V  
You can have 'em  
So when you see me comin  
You better back down  
Cause I've been waitin to smack you around_

_Oh I don't hold my breath  
And I don't hold my tounge  
And I know that you know that I don't back down To no one  
To no one /i _

The sounds of the lyrics were so confident that Reject couldn't help but sing along.

_iWith all your plastic surgery you still think that your 20  
Well honey you'll never look half good as me  
It would take a lot more money  
You can't keep your legs closed  
Your cheap and disturbing  
And you wonder why your still single and past 30./i _

In reality this is what she really needed, a nice good kick in the pants. She didn't care how loud she was because right now all that mattered was the song.

_iOh you should've stayed home  
You should've known better  
Yet I melt in your mouth like liquid sugar.  
You thought you were gonna throw it back in my face  
But tell me how do my leftovers taste/i_

Reject continued to sing until the song was over and she took a deep breath and settled down on her bed sighing contentedly.

Later on that night Reject was ready to fall asleep and she slowly made her way back to the room she shared with Near. She walked in she saw him sitting on his side of the room stacking dice.

"Hi Near" Reject said cheerfully which was completely ignored by Near who continued to stack dice and acted as if he was the only one in the room.

"Right, well, good night" Reject said plainly as she went over to her bed and crawled in, pulled the blankets over her and snuggled in.

About a half an hour later she rolled over and saw Near still sitting there stacking dice. Reject watched him for a while and analyzed his movements. Near appeared calm but his hands told a different story as they moved.

The movements were stiff and twitchy and belonged to someone who was very mad but this is what confused Reject the most. The rest of Near's body was completely motionless save for his steady breathing.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Near's voice suddenly made Reject jump and she looked up to see him staring straight at her.

"Shouldn't you?" Reject replied defiantly glaring at him. Near's reaction was instantaneous as he swiftly rose to his feet and glided toward Reject's bed. Reject immediately recoiled back and pressed her body against the wall in an attempt to get away from him.

She glanced up at Near with terror filled eyes and when Near reached his hand down toward Reject, she closed her eye on reflex but to her surprise she feel any pain. Near simply placed his hand on top of her head for a brief moment before taking the edge of her blanket and pulling it up to her neck.

"Don't…try my patience again" Near warned in a stern tone with a finger pointed at Reject's half covered face. He walked to his side on the room and proceeded to put his dice away. When he was done he slowly wandered over to his bed and crawled in.

Reject couldn't sleep, she couldn't close her eyes for fear that if opened them again Near would be standing over her bed staring at her with those ice cold, black, emotionless eyes. She tried to stay awake for as long as she could but alas the grip of sleep soon clamed her.

Even in dreams granted no opinions of relief from the fear and torture, for even her own mind had her trapped…

…Behind white walls of _dice_…


	2. Chapter 2

Behind white walls of dice 2

_"The point of a video game is not to beat it, but to learn from it" _

Reject wasn't tired…No tired was not the word to describe how she was feeling. Reject was exhausted beyond belief.

For the last past few days Reject had been sleep deprived do to Near and his incurable insomnia. Every night it was different, first it was dominoes, then it was Rubix cubes, she couldn't keep track of them all but the worst toy he played with, the one thing that gave Reject nightmares…

…was the dice…

Reject couldn't understand why something so small could be unnerving, the way Near placed them, the way they clicked together on contact, just thinking about it was enough to make Reject cringe.

By the end of the day Reject once again was exhausted and she wasn't looking forward to going back to her room with the albino nightmare known as Near. Reject walked down the hall but then suddenly stopped.

One of the dorm rooms stood wide open, and Reject was curious about this so she quietly poked her head into the room. It was empty save for a video game that was left running that was sitting idle on the start menu.

Reject cautiously stepped inside to get a closer look. The game turned out to be _Michael Jackson's Moon Walker_ for the Super NES, Reject vaguely remembered the game from her childhood as well as the movie it was based on, but even she had a compelled urge to play it.

She looked around to see if there was anyone else around before taking up the retro square controller.

"Well, I'm sure who ever it is set this up wouldn't mind if I played it while they're gone" Reject said quietly to herself. She pressed start and the game began, she quickly got passed the first level without any problem, the second and third level, nothing much just a little tougher.

Before she realized it she was on the last level and she beat the last boss without so much as hiccup to stop her. When the end game screen came up came up she felt very proud of her accomplishment and she leaned sat back on the small chair with a small smile play at her lips.

"Wow, your pretty good for a nooby" a voice spoke from behind causing Reject to jump. She turned her head to a young boy, roughly the same age as her standing right behind the chair drinking a 2 liter of Coke with a shy smile.

He sported a black and white striped long sleeve shirt and a pair of orange tinted goggles. Reject's face went completely red when she saw him because she recognized him immediately.

"Heh…H-hey Matt, long time no see" Reject said still blushing and fidgeting with her sleeve.

"Like wise, you gonna move so I can sit or do ya wanna keep me standing here?" Matt asked with a some what cocky smile.

"Oh I'm sorry" Reject quickly hopped up from the chair to let redhead sit down. Matt just laughed and pulled out another folding chair and placed it beside the other one before he sat down.

Reject cautiously sat down in the chair beside him. He had grown a lot since the last time she saw him, he was taller and more built and she couldn't help but gawk at him slightly.

"Like what you see?" the redhead asked grinning impishly. Reject's face suddenly matched the color of her hat and she quickly popped the collar of her trench coat and ducked her head down so he wouldn't see to which had to laugh at.

"Relax ReRe you're not the only girl to find me attractive" Matt said with a friendly smile.

"Yeah but stil-Wait a second! Did you just call me ReRe?" Reject asked eyes wide in astonishment. Matt smiled at her not answering as he squatted to change out the cartridge in the SNES for another.

"I know your real name is Reject, but it makes me feel bad to have to call by that, but you probably don't wanna be called by your alias all the time so I figured you could use a nickname" Matt said looking up from his place on the floor and smiling.

"Well I guess your right but I still prefer to be called Reject" Reject said in a plain not caring tone. Matt got back in his seat after switching the console back on, this time the game was _Super Mario Bros. 3_, true classic of the video game world, but even so Reject is shocked when Matt hands her a controller.

"I figured since you're here you might as well play too, especially since you beat Moon Walker in under 20 minutes" Matt said grinning mischievously as Reject bushed again. Reject had almost forgotten how much she loved this game, whether it was the game play, the cheesy story line or the general weirdness of it game concept she loved it all.

After about roughly 30 minutes of solid goomba slaughter the door to the room opened and a black, turtle-necked and blue denim clad blond walked in looking tired and pissed.

"Are guys gonna be for long? I wanna shoot some aliens...like really bad" the blond asked in a dull, bored voice as walked into the room.

"Oh hey Mello, I got you some chocolate while I was at the convenient store" Matt said picking up a paper bag and throwing at the blond. Mello reached into the bag and pulled out one of the chocolate bars it contained, tore the wrapper off and took a rather large bite.

"Thanks a lot man I really needed this, Mrs. Schmucks was a complete bitch today" Mello grunted picking up the huge X-Box controller. Reject's head jerked up when she heard the name.

"Mrs. Schmucks! That old fossil is still alive and teaching?" Reject said in shock and disbelief.

"What are you talking about Reject? Like, what do you mean?" Mello asked taking another bite of his chocolate while still mashing buttons on the controller.

"You guys, Mrs. Schmucks use to teach A and BB and she was already ancient back then so I'm surprised she's still teaching now" Reject answered leaning back on the chair.

"Well I guess that may have proven one fact" Reject said sounding very methodical.

"Oh yeah, and what's that"

"That she in fact is living proof that dinosaurs once roamed the earth"

The two boys laughed hysterically at Reject's joke and of course Reject couldn't help but laugh with them. Reject stayed and hung out with for a few more hours until Reject thought it best that should head back to her room considering how later it was getting.

She was very reluctant to leave, but with all the noise that she, Matt and Mello were making there was no doubt that Roger would get annoyed. When she arrived at her room it was eerily quiet and Reject walked in quietly in hopes that the albino boy had gone to sleep.

"…Where have you been...?"

A cold voice asked quietly through the darkness of the room, and Reject instantly knew who it was. There sitting in the far side of the room with an icy glare on his face was Reject's one and only worst nightmare…

…Near

He sat in the middle of what appeared to be a small castle made entirely out of dice. Reject stared at him for a few moments before quietly walking over to her bed and lying down.

"I went and played some video games and hung out with Matt and Mello, why?" Reject answered plain tone not caring weather Near was annoyed with her as she crawled under her covers ignoring the albino.

It was now silent for a moment or two until she the sound of Near's castle of dice topple over and clatter all over the floor. The sound was so excruciating for Reject she rolled over facing the wall covered her ears.

When the dice finally stopped moving she removed her hands from her ears and cuddled deeper into her blanket. Soon after she felt eyes on her again and she slowly rolled over again.

This time she met a furious gaze that was extremely close to her, so close in fact that it startled her enough to recoil backward and hit her head off the wall beside her. Obsidian eyes reflected Reject's own terrified face back at her.

Near reached forward and tore the blankets of her before grabbing her and yanking her up into a sitting position and pushing her back against the wall and held her there by her shoulders.

"You think this is some kind of high school…You think you can walk around and socially mingle when ever you like with whom ever you like… You're not here to make friends… You are here to be punished…" Near spoke coldly as he reached forward to unbutton her shirt.

"You are beneath me Reject and you will learn… It is time to give you a taste of what will happen if you continue to rebel against your purpose" Near began trailing icy patterns over her stomach with his fingers, stealing away the heat from the flesh.

Reject squirmed but could do very little against Near's relentless grip. The Albino's icy hands kept dancing down until they hit her beltline and one hand quickly dove down, slipping into her underwear and eagerly slipped into her wetness.

Reject tried to scream only to it muffled by the silver headed boy's mouth. Near's frozen fingers slid deep inside Reject causing her to shutter in both euphoria and fear and the fact that the albino's lips were still crushing against hers didn't help at all.

Then suddenly Near bit down on Reject's lip almost hard enough to make it bleed which in turn caused her to scream in his mouth. The albino pulled his fingers out of her before finally releasing his grip on her.

Near brought his hand to his mouth and started licking off the fluids from his middle finger while leaving the other one untouched before raising his hand toward her face and pushing his sticky finger into her mouth and forcing her to taste herself.

Reject blanched at the salty bitter taste, trying desperately to push Near away from her until finally he released her from his cold steel grip. As soon as she was released Reject crawled into the corner of her bed closest to the wall and curled into a fetal position whimpering softly.

After a few minutes Near moved closer to her and Reject tried pushing herself further into the corner to try to get away from him. She soon she felt the softness of her blanket wrap around her and a pair of cold lips pressed against her ear.

"Relax…that was a warning…if I catch you not doing your job I can assure you…it will be a lot worse next time…" Near whispered softly before backing away and stepping off the bed leaving Reject shivering in a fearful manner.

Meanwhile back in the other boys room Matt was sitting by his TV with a puzzled look on his face scrolling up and down a list of scores.

"Matt can't you save that for tomorrow? You've been staring at that screen for nearly 2 hours" the blond said tiredly leaning against the back of the gamer's chair.

"Impossible…it's impossible…how did she beat my score…so very strange" the redhead murmured softly still scrolling up and down the list.

"What's the big deal Matt, so she beat your highest score it's not the end of the world"

"Mello, Mello, Mello…You have a lot to learn in the world of gaming…the point of a video game is not to beat it, but to learn from it" the gamer said finally reaching forward to turn off the console.


	3. Chapter 3

Behind white walls of dice 3

_"hey look! its raining bullets sideways again!" _

Wammy's House had grown quite a bit over the past few years and had several new additions to the place. The old dining room had turned into large cafeteria that was probably the worst area to clean.

But unlike the cafeteria, gym and classrooms there was one room which Reject was surprised to find.

…Wammy's House had its own firing range.

It was a large, sound proof room with concrete floors and the room itself was about the size of a small gym with several wooden stalls lined up on one side with an open area with paper targets hung up on the far end.

Reject started at one end of the range and began sweeping up everything from bullet casings to shredded paper targets. When she was half way she stopped to take a small break.

Reject let out a content sigh before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small jar of peanut butter and settled herself on her haunches. She took a spoonful of the creamy substance and deposited it into her mouth and sucked roughly trying to get it all off.

When Reject was finished she stood up and stretched herself up cracking her back at the same time. Then suddenly a large white target whizzed past and then…

_BANG!_

_ BANG! _

_ BANG! _

_ BANG! _

_ BANG! _

_ BANG! _

Before Reject could react 6 bullets just barely missed her and hit the target behind her.

"HOLY SHIT! Reject are you alright!" A voice called out from behind one of the stalls.

"Well aside from the fact that I might need to change my pants now, I feel great" Reject replied sarcastically before throwing her broom over her shoulder and casually walking towards the row of wooden stalls.

When she saw who was firing the gun Reject's eyes widened and her jaw nearly hit the floor. Mello was sitting on the bench beside the stall just casually disassembling a standard handgun.

"They allow children to handle firearms without supervision?"

"Shhhh! Reject keep it down! Roger doesn't know I'm down here" Mello Whispered cautiously before turning and reassembling his gun.

"Ok just to clarify, whose idea was it to give guns to the kids?" Reject asked skeptically looking down wearily at the gun in Mello's hand.

"It was originally L's idea but it was Mr. Wammy who decided it would be a good idea" Mello answered as he took out the magazine to the gun and reloaded it one bullet at a time.

Just then the door opened and Matt walked in caring his gameboy. The redheaded gamer walked over to Mello and without saying anything pulled a chocolate bar out of his vest and placed it on the table.

"Ah, thanks Matt" Mello smiled before eagerly tearing off the silver wrapper and taking a bite.

"Hey Mello, what's with you and chocolate" Reject asked curiously tilting her head to one side.

"Ya know Reject, you are actually the first person besides Matt to ask me" Mello replied with a laugh.

"I like it because it's sweet and it goes with everything…in truth there are 2 things in this world I love…guns and chocolate…though…mostly chocolate" Mello smirked finishing off the rest of the chocolate bar and crumpling the wrapper.

"So Reject, I heard a rumor that you knew B, is it true" The question was enough to make Reject go very quiet and she averted her eyes to the floor.

"…It's true but I don't want to talk about it" Reject whispered softly looking away.

"Oh…I'm sorry I didn't know, I-"

"No, no it's ok, I just get a little emotional when ever someone mentions him" Reject looked back up at Mello smiling shyly. Mello grinned back smugly as he picked up his gun and took aim but this time he didn't fire.

Mello instead pulled the gun back and turned to look at Reject before looking at the gun again and from the looks of it he appeared to be contemplating something, and then suddenly a smirk came across his face.

"Say Reject, have you ever fired a gun before" Mello asked still grinning at the green haired janitor who looked back at the blond nervously.

"W-well n-no, never" Reject replied shyly looking up at with wide blue eye.

Mello's grin grew wider and he eagerly motioned Reject over to the stall he was sitting at and handed her his earmuffs and safety glasses. Once Reject had the safety gear on Mello casually stood behind her and place the firearm in her hands.

"Ok, now look down the sight of your gun and point it in the direction of the target down there and just relax, I'm right behind you if you need anything" Mello instructed as he guided Reject's motions from behind her.

Reject took a deep and took aim though she was feeling quite uncomfortable with how close Mello was. She unloaded the full clip into the paper target and let out a relieved sigh when Mello moved from his place behind her to a small console on the wall behind them.

The black and white target whizzed forward and Mello was the first to reach out to inspect it. Mello's jaw dropped when he saw the target and, in fact his look was so uncharacteristic of him that both Reject and Matt were compelled to take a look them selves.

What Reject saw she could never expect, yes all six bullets hit the target, but it was where they hit that was truly shocking. She got 1 sot in the head, 2 in the chest and 3 in the groin.

"Holy Shit!" Mello gawked at the sheet, the look of amazement still splayed across his face.

"How w-was that?" Reject asked anxiously standing behind Mello.

"…Not bad…for a girl"

"Mello! That was good for Rambo! Reject ignore Mello he's just jealous 'cause you're a natural" Matt said smiling sweetly and Reject quickly pulled her hood up over her head to hind the tint of blush coming across her face.

"Say Reject it's just about dinner time would you like to sit with us in the dinning hall tonight?" Matt asked pushing his goggles up to show a pair of deep, cobalt blue eyes.

"Well I don't…I don't think I'm allowed" Reject said looking down with a glum face.

"Of coarse you're allowed Reject, because me and Mels here are personally inviting you"

"Yeah-wait! We are?"

"Shut up Mello"

Reject looked up into the deep blue eyes of the redhead standing over her and she couldn't help but smile.

"So Reject, would you care to join us for dinner?" Matt asked again and Reject immediately nodded in response.

After dinner Reject made her way back to her dorm room her stomach filled completely to the brim. She had to admit she really enjoyed that meal even though she almost lost her appetite when Mello told Matt a joke while his was drinking and he wound up squirting milk out his nose.

But the best part of all was Near wasn't in the dinning hall so he could not harass her about socializing with the other orphans. And you know what they say; What ever Near doesn't know won't hurt him…or get Reject raped.

Reject Stood outside of the large white door to her room and took a deep cleansing breath before resting her hand on the doorknob and opening the door as slowly as she could. Today must really be a good day today because Near was nowhere to be seen.

She closed the door quietly and stripped herself down to her under garments and crawled into here bed. Reject was about to dose off when she heard the door to the room open and she slowly rolled over to see the albino boy walking into the room.

Reject squinted her eyes shut and pretended to sleep but still kept her eyes on Near as slowly strode across the wooden floor inching closer to her bed. When Near reach down toward her Reject squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that he wouldn't try to violate her tonight.

Reject felt the edge of her blanket slowly and gently being pealed off of her, Near's icy cold hand ghosting down the side of her body making her shiver and she shuffled away when Near crawled in next to her.

When Reject tried to get away from him Near suddenly grabbed her, pushed her down on her back and laid on top of her nuzzling his face into her neck. Reject couldn't move, not because Near was pinning her, she couldn't simply because she was too afraid.

Ice cold hands held her tightly as the albino began to nibble up Reject's neck until he got to her ear and he paused pressing his frozen lips to it.

"Relax…I just want to ask you some questions…mainly what were you doing sitting with Matt and Mello in the dinning hall?" Near asked in a smooth but cold tone that sent a shiver down Reject's spine.

"N-Near p-please…t-they i-invited me…please d-don't be m-mad…" Reject stuttered as Near began to lick the cup of her ear, clearly he didn't like her answer.

"Well now that that's answered…Where were you today?" the albino asked stroking Reject's head and separating the green colored locks.

"I-I was cleaning the f-firing range and I almost got shot by Mello" Reject answered honestly flinching at every touch that Near placed upon her. Near didn't say anything for a long time, instead he laid motionless on top of Reject breathing deeply into her neck.

"Fine that is acceptable…but tonight I will remain in your bed as punishment for not turning down they're offer when you should have" Near whispered quietly still petting Reject's hair affectionately.

Reject despite being afraid found herself in a position where she didn't want to fall asleep but she couldn't help it at all between her exhaustion and Near's face nuzzling into her neck with his slightly warm breath ghosting down her chest her eyes grew heavy and she soon found herself locked in slumbers grip.

And even though she didn't quite know it yet, it was painfully clear…

…Reject had now become Near's property…And he wasn't planning on letting his new plaything go any time soon…


	4. Chapter 4

Behind white walls of dice 4

_"…Do you need a cigarette after math...?" _

In Wammy's House's education was the primary necessity and was not taken lightly, not even by the orphans them selves. All of the subjects that were taught (though a majority of them were university level classes) were taught very differently from high schools.

In fact Reject found herself one day sitting outside of a classroom listening to a lecture on law that she found very fascinating. And Reject repeated this routine of finishing her work as fast as she can so she could sit outside one of the classrooms to listen.

She herself having been orphaned at a very young age, had never received any form of formal education, save for A and BB teaching her how to read and write, for which she was eternally grateful for.

This new knowledge was different and she it craved more of it everyday, because everyday it was something different. French, physics, civics, psychology, art everything she heard she soaked in like a sponge.

It was one particularly nice day and Reject found herself sitting outside of a Math class (her personal favorite subject) her eyes closed and a content smile on her face. Then suddenly the bell went signaling the end of the period class.

Reject stood up beside the door and watched as the rest of the children pile out of the classroom looking quite relieved that the class ended. After the children had left Reject entered with her broom in hand ready to start cleaning.

It looked like your standard classroom, desk lined up in rows and book shelves in the back. Reject took a breath, inhaling the stagnant and chalky classroom air before she proceeded to wipe down the desks and sweep the entirety of the room.

When she got to the chalkboard she was right about to wash it clean was she suddenly stopped. There at the top of the board was a single math equation and it didn't look like a normal high school level question either, this one an advanced, university algebra equation.

The slew of numbers, letter and other mathematical symbols would have been enough to make the average man's head spin, but surprisingly it didn't have that effect on Reject at all.

She couldn't figure out why but for some reason it all made perfect sense, every little factor in the equation fell into place just like a puzzle. But then Reject remembered what happened with Near's puzzle and she remember the icy, pale hand closing around her neck squeezing the life out of her.

Reject shuttered and turned away from the board feeling truly torn. She wanted to learn but she didn't want to suffer for it. A massive internal struggle tugged at her insides and she didn't know what to do.

She looked up at the board again, she saw question still there almost taunting to solve it which she wanted to desperately. Reject took a quick glance around, the classroom was completely bare, accept for a laptop that was left running in the corner.

Reject walked over and closed and the classroom door and pulled the blinds shut. When she was positive that no one could see her she picked up a piece of chalk and walked over to the board and stared at it defiantly.

She brought the chalk up to the board and began to jot down several numbers in a straight line below the equation itself, carefully calculating each step, piece by piece.

By the time Reject had the last step in the equation, the once one lined equation had now taken over the entire board. Reject stood back and admired her work, she didn't if she got it all right or not but that didn't matter, because she had too much fun trying to solve it to really care.

She took a deep relaxed sigh before turning to leave the room but then suddenly stopped. She quickly walked back over to the board and swiftly erased her answer leaving the board how she found it before finally leaving.

Reject walked down the hall feeling giddy like a cat that just ate the canary, so giddy in fact she didn't pay attention where she was going soon she ran smack into Roger knocking both him and her onto the ground.

"Oh sorry Roger, are you ok?" Reject apologized helping Roger back up onto his feet.

"Young lady do watch where you are going" The old man said in a sour tone pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Sorry Roger, I was in such a good mood paying attention became slightly difficult for me" Reject said blushing in embarrassment.

"That is quite alright miss R, now if you'll excuse me, I have a Math class to teach" Roger said picking up his textbook.

"Wow Roger, I didn't know you taught Math" Reject marveled with admirable look in her eyes.

"Yes, why do you ask? Do you have an interest in mathematics?" Roger asked raising an eyebrow at Reject.

"I love Math, do you love Math Roger?" Reject replied eagerly smiling up at the old man.

Roger paused for a moment before answering.

"Yes, I shall not tell a lie. Math has been my passion since my years of being an Oxford Math professor"

"So would you give your soul for Math?"

"Yes"

"Would invest every minute of your time to Math?"

"Yes"

"Would spend every waking moment with Math taking every pleasure it induces?"

"…Yes"

"…"

"…?"

"…Do you need a cigarette after Math?"

Roger frowned but then suddenly a fit of giggles erupted from both Reject and the old man.

They both went there separate ways and Reject pressed on in hopes that there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

000000000000000000000

L sat in front of his computer sucking on liquorish with deeply puzzled look on his face watching a recording of some video feed from one of the classrooms.

The detective brought his thumb to his lips and nibbled away at his nail till finally after several minutes with no answers L reached over to press a button on a large box with a microphone.

"Roger…Are you busy at this current moment in time?" The detective asked still gnawing on his thumb nail.

"Not at all L, what is it you require?"

"Could you come into my office for a moment and come take a look at this"

A few moments later the white haired old man came into the room and before he could say anything L hopped out of his chair and spun the monitor around for Roger to see.

"Tell me Roger, would you say from experience that that is the correct formula to use in that equation" L asked pointing to a freeze frame of the classroom blackboard with an equation loosely jotted down on it.

Roger adjusted his glasses before leaning forward to take a closer look at the screen. Roger's eyes widened substantially then he quickly looked up at the detective who shared the same shock expression.

"That…equation was only meant for the protégés for tomorrow's exam…who solved it…" Roger said almost shouting. L rolled the clip back to reveal someone wearing a long dark coat and red ball cap standing in front of the chalkboard.

"Oh…my…god" Roger gaped staring at the screen while L slowly reached for another liquorish.

"Indeed…"

"…It seems that R is far more intelligent then she leads us to believe"


	5. Chapter 5

Behind white walls of dice 5

_"Who would have thought Peanut Butter tasted this good with Jelly"_

Reject today would find herself mopping down the gym, very enlightened by the fact that she was able to learn new things, enjoy her work and socialize (mainly with Matt and/or Mello) without Near finding out about it.

For the last few weeks she did this behind his back and couldn't be happier. Serves him right for trying to keep her down, the little albino pervert. The mere thought of how devious she was being made her smile.

She continued on with her job still smiling at the thought until she was finally done. She let out a relieved sigh looking back at the now spotless gym floor feeling very proud of her accomplishment.

She was just about to leave when suddenly she lost her balance and tripped over her feet. This wasn't anything new to her since she was always known to be quite a clumsy person so she shrugged it off and tried to get back on her feet.

It was quite a difficult task do to the fact that the sole of her left boot had now fallen off rendering the footwear completely useless.

"Damn it! That was my favorite pair…well my only pair but still" Reject pouted picking off the floor. The sole of the boot dangled uselessly as Reject carried it with her out of the gym.

She walked down the hall toward the closet she knew very, very well. The large metal door swung inward with a creek and the familiar smell of mold and mildew surrounded as she stepped inside.

It really hadn't changed at all since she left, other then it was completely covered in cobwebs and a thick layer of dust. Reject walked over to a partially hidden red, rusted toolbox and dusted it off.

She was quite grateful to find that no one had taken her tools while she was gone, and so she fished through it. After a while of looking she pulled out a roll of duck tape and kicked the box shut.

Reject sat the boot down and proceeded to tape the sole back on as best as she could. When she was done she smiled confidently at her work and she slipped the boot on with ease, but then suddenly a drop of water fell upon her head.

She looked up to see the pipe just above her head starting to leak, and so Reject got up on a stool to take a closer look at it.

"Hmmm…Why do I get a strange sense of dejavu?" Reject muttered quietly looking at the pipe. Then suddenly strange gargling noises began emanating from down the pipe getting louder and pipe itself appeared to be swelling slightly.

"Oh no! don't tell me Roger never bothered to fix the pip-"

**_SPLAAAAASH!_**

Reject was suddenly washed out of the closet by a massive tidal wave and out into the hallway leaving her clothes soaked and her pride water logged. Just then Mr. Wammy came down the hall to investigate the noise and Reject couldn't be happier or embarrassed.

"Good heavens, are you alright Ms. R?" The old man asked in a worried tone helping the drenched girl to her feet. Reject shook herself like a large dog and wrung out her red hat and placing it back on her head.

"Blaaarg…I think swallowed Linda's dead goldfish…Thank you Mr. Wammy" Reject sighed still shaking the water out of her boots, which had both fallen apart now.

"Oh Dear, R what happened to your boots?" The old man said looking at the partially corroded leather remains of Reject's footwear. By now both boots were completely destroyed beyond repair and Reject's drooped sadly at the realization.

"Well I guess I'll have to go find another pair of second hand boots" Reject said sounding very glum. She didn't care that they were old and ugly, Reject really liked those old boots and to her it felt like she lost her best friend.

"Oh Dear, this will not do at all will it" Mr. Wammy commented pulling out his cell phone and dialing a random number. Reject was really in not the best of moods and she drudged down the hall in her soggy wet clothes before suddenly the old man came from behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Come along Ms. R, we must be going" the elderly man said with a smile and earning a confused look from the young girl beside him.

"Going? Going where?" Reject asked tilting her head to one side as she looked up at him with a puzzled look while the old man graciously took her by the hand and led her down the hall.

"Why to buy you some new protective shoes, it would be simply unacceptable to be allowed to work without proper footwear" Mr. Wammy said in a jolly tone pulling Reject along and before she realized it she was sitting in the back of a black Mercedes Benz.

"Umm we don't have to Mr. Wammy I can manage" Reject said sheepishly trying to be polite.

"Nonsense, we're going to buy you some new shoes and I won't let you talk me out of it, perhaps we should pick you up some new clothes while we're out" The old man retorted in a cheerful tone as he swiftly pulled out of the driveway.

The drive it self was thankfully a short one as civilization was not as far away as she had perceived. They had parked out in front of some fairly expensive clothing shops with flashy signs and large posters with designer labels.

"We don't have to go anywhere expensive you know we can just stop at a second hand shop" Reject suggested feeling a little guilty that Mr. Wammy was going to all this trouble for a pair of new shoes.

"Now, now, R There is no need to be modest I've always made sure my orphans receive the very best and you shall be treated no different" The old man replied holding the door open for Reject on the way into the store.

The store itself was rather large, and before Mr. Wammy could get around to asking her, Reject had disappeared off into the shoe section. She really disliked large stores with too many people and she was determined to get this done as quickly as possible.

She began inspecting several pairs of boots to see which ones that going to last the longest as well handle the most abuse.

_"...Shoes…"_

_"…Shoes…"_

_"…Shoes…"_

_ "Oh my God! Shoes…"_

None of them were good enough as all of them seemed poorly manufactured and overpriced and only had a label to ride on.

_"These shoes rule…These shoes suck…These shoes rule…These shoes SUCK!" _

She was right about to give when her eyes zoned in a particular pair of boots sitting on display. The boots looked pretty fit, real leather insoles and titanium steel toe cap these boots where would have been perfect accept for one minor problem…

…they were 300$.

"Did you find what you're looking for my dear?" The old man asked as he finally caught up with Reject.

_"These shoes cost 300$...These shoes cost 300$..." _

"Are those the boots you want?"

_"These shoes cost 300 fucking dollars!" _

"You don't have to worry I'm buying"

_"LET'S GET 'EM!"_

"LET'S GET 'EM!"

And so both Mr. Wammy and Reject made their way to pay for Reject's boots when suddenly something glittering caught her eye and she went to investigate. It was a beautiful dark green dress with a black and green sequin trim.

Now Reject being the tomboy that she was never cared that much for women's clothing, but Reject couldn't help but find this dress amazingly beautiful with it's black Celtic vines down the front that gave it a bit of a gothic look to it that Reject couldn't help but find beautifully eye catching.

"Do you like the dress Ms. R? Would like me to buy it for you?" That was enough to snap Reject out of lala-land and back into reality and she looked up at Wammy with an 'Are you joking' expression.

"Oh no Watari, I cannot allow you to spend anymore on me, especially something as frivolous as a lovely dress, I mean what would L say Hmmmm?" Reject objected politely but still feeling disappointed about the dress but she knew she wasn't allowed to be selfish in this situation.

The drive home had been a quiet one, not for any really reason, just too tired to make small talk. When the old man pulled into the driveway Reject hopped out and immediately went over to Mr. Wammy and gave him a hug.

"Thank you so much Mr. Wammy" Reject said after finally releasing him smiling as she dashed off into the house. When she got inside she quickly pulled on her new boots, and as stiff as they were from newness they were surprisingly comfortable.

Reject was in an amazing mood, seriously, Reject was so happy she felt there wasn't anything that could ruin or take away her amazingly happy mood.

"You're in an awfully good mood today Reject…"

…Ok happy feeling gone now…

Reject turned to face the great white horror that had plagued her since day one…

…_Near _

"Those are some nice boots…Where did you get them?" Near commented in his usual unnervingly cold voice that always seemed to make Reject frightfully uncomfortable.

"Mr. Wammy bought them for me to replace my old boots" Reject said honestly seeing as how Wammy owned the house she had no reason to lie.

"Alright then, what happened to your old boots?" Near tested, eying her wearily and analyzing every action she took to see if she was lying to him.

"They didn't survive the pipe explosion down the hall, they died and went to Doc Martin heaven" Reject answered plainly with a smug grin as if what she said was down right hilarious.

Near paused for a moment to reach up and finger a lock of his pure white hair methodically trying to think of another argument which didn't take him long at all seeing as how he was a genius.

"Ok Reject, now answer this…" Near started, staring coldly at Reject with frozen dilated eyes that could almost pierce a man's soul.

"…How much did they cost?" Near asked finally as a hidden smirk started forming under his deadpan face making him appear far more sinister then he would normally look.

"…"

"Well?" Near was persistent and Reject took a heavy sigh before looking him in the face.

"…300$" Reject said not denying anything. Near shook his head and looked up at Reject, this time his face appeared even darker as his face came closer to her. Suddenly fear came rushing deep into the pit of Reject's stomach and she did everything she could to keep it from showing despite Near being an inch away from her face.

"That is most unfortunate" Near said darkly, taking his fingers and trailing them down her cheek before taking one of her green locks of hair and curling between his thumb and index finger.

"Yeah tell me about it, Mr. Wammy really ought to handle his money better, he was so insistent that we get the most expensive pair in the store and then he almost bought me a 1000$ dress on top of that but luckily I managed to talk him out of it"

Near's eyes were as wide as they could possibly go and he quickly withdrew his hand from Reject's hair. He let out a rather disappointed sigh and walked on passed Reject.

"By the way…I wouldn't mind seeing you in a dress some time" and with that said Near continued down the hall with out another word. Reject stood there for a moment and waited until Near was no longer in sight or in ear range before bursting out laughing.

By the end of the day Reject was tired but at least thanks to her new boots her feet didn't hurt. She stumbled down the hall toward the bedroom but then suddenly Matt and Mello jumped her.

"YO ReRe!" they shouted causing her so fall backwards on to her backside. Both the boys helped her back up to her feet, and Reject did notice the upset looks on both their faces.

"Hey ReRe what's going on? You haven't spoken to either of us in weeks, what's going on?" Mello demanded with an under laying hint of concern in his voice.

"I'm sorry you guys, I'm only here on probation so I'm not exactly allowed to talk to anyone anymore" Reject said glumly looking down at the floor she just cleaned.

"Aw that's bullshit!" Mello protested indignantly crossing his arms like a child.

"I know but there's nothing I can do about it, believe me I would love to hang out with you guys, but I can't" Reject admitted reluctantly her eyes still drooping and on almost on the verge of tears.

"Oh yes you can" Mello said suddenly after a moment of silence and causing Reject to look up at him with a truly confused look.

"Mello what are you talking about?" Reject asked anxiously awaiting his answer.

"…Well, who's gonna clean up…after our slumber party" Mello finally answered with a devious smirk. Reject smiled at him looking like a kid at Christmas who just found out they were about to meet Santa Claus.

"So you wanna come? You're gonna have to clean up after us anyway so why not come and enjoy it" Mello grinned putting a hand on her shoulder. Reject was excited, more then excited, she was thrilled.

She had honestly never been to a slumber party and she couldn't wait to go, but also something in the back of her mind told her that if Near found out she would be in a lot of trouble, mainly with him but still.

She was afraid of what he could do to her if he found out. She already had been violated by his fingers once and she wasn't looking forward to anything else violating her. it wasn't as if it felt bad, no it was because it felt good.

So good in fact that it made her feel guilty simply because she was still in love with Beyond and the pleasure was torture. She loved Beyond to still be faithful to him despite the fact she would never see him again…

…her love would never be tainted or broken, not by anyone and not by Near…


	6. Chapter 6

Behind white walls of dice 6

_"Party like it's 1999...without the Y2K panic or the blackout"_

Reject stood in front of the mirror and frantically fiddling and fussing with her hair as she tried to make herself presentable. In all honesty she was incredibly nervous but still made a concerted effort to make sure she looked descent.

Reject stood back from the mirror to inspect herself. She didn't want to show up in her usual attire but didn't want to overdress for the occasion so she kept it plain and simple. She kept her red hat and jeans but she switched out her trench coat and sweat for a tank top.

When she was satisfied with her outfit, she picked up her pillow and bag and went out of the room. She was glad that Near was still at the library doing his homework and by the time he was done she would be having a wonderful time at the boys party, and this thought alone made her smile.

When she arrived at the boy's room she sucked in a deep breath before knocking on the door.

"Hey ReRe! 'bout time you showed up" Matt said as he opened the door to let Reject through. There were a lot more people here then Reject had expected but she really didn't mind because they were people she got a long with very well.

"Hey I brought some munchies if you guys are interested" Reject said pulling out a bag of chips and dip out from her bag and tossing it over to Mello who then deposited it on the junk food table.

Reject walked over and sat down on the one of the many beanbag chairs there were and relaxed. She knew everyone that was there, from Matt and Mello to Linda to Edger and Gill (E & G).

Mello laid sprawl out on a blowup chair in the middle of the room with a double chocolate Sunday and a big grin on his face. Matt sat across from Reject with Linda in his lap watching both Edger and Gill make asses of them selves on DDR.

Gill wasn't doing to well mainly because Edger was 300 pounds and Gill had to maneuver around his mat to keep himself from getting knock over by Edger's massive ass, to which Reject was quite entertained by.

"So, how's life been treating you ReRe?" Matt asked as he stood up, pushing Linda from his lap and headed over to the cooler by the junk food table.

"Not too bad I guess, still doing what I'm doing, Near's a pain to deal with" Reject said plainly resting her chin on her palm.

"Aw man I feel really bad that you gotta share a room with him, I remember when I had to share a room with him for a little while" Matt said grapping and tossing Reject a soda from the cooler.

"You shared a room with Near?" Reject asked looking up at Matt who sat down again pulling Linda back into his lap.

"Yeah, back when they were remodeling the east wing dorms they had to bunk me with Near…dude, that kid never sleeps"

"No kidding, I haven't had a good night sleep in ages" Reject answered honestly. The rest of the night remained uneventful aside from the karaoke event where Mello proved just how feminine he was by singing some 1980's Madonna music.

By midnight everyone was exhausted and about ready to hit the hay. Linda, Edger and Gill had already left to sleep in their own beds leaving Matt, Mello and Reject to clean up.

"See Reject I told you we'd need you to clean up the mess" Mello said with a laugh while stuffing a handful of wrappers and empty chip bags into a garbage bag.

"Well somebody's got to do it" Reject said smirking as she swept through. When everything was cleaned up picked up her belongings and was about take her leave like everyone else when suddenly both Mello and Matt placed their hands on her shoulder halting her from leaving.

"Hey Reject why don't you spend the night with us" Mello asked grinning while scratching the back of his head in a shy manner. Reject was incredibly relieved to spend the night with the boys and not with the creepy albino.

"Ok ReRe you take my bed and I'll sleep on the floor" Mello said gesturing over to his bed and grinning mischievously.

"No ReRe sleep in my bed, don't let Mello sleep on the floor" Matt said pointing to his bed.

"No Matt! She's sleeping on my bed"

"No way Mello! She's sleeping on mine"

"Uhh…guys its ok I can sleep floor…it would be rude of me to take either of your beds"

"No it wouldn't rude, and no she's sleeping in mine!"

"Like hell she is Matt!"

This really wasn't working and for Reject it was like trying to argue with two children over who had the bigger cookie so the logical solution seemed the best action to take at the time.

"Hey guys, I have an idea…why don't we all sleep on the floor" Reject suggested earning a strange look from the boys. Both Mello and Matt exchanged glances before briefly turning around to silently debate Reject's suggestion.

"Sure we'll do it" both the boys announced and they began pulling both their blankets and pillows off their bed and on to the floor. When all the sheets were set up the three of them crawled into them and eagerly made them selves comfortable and though they were all snuggled in tight, none of them could sleep.

"Oh dude that's disgusting and delicious at the same time" Matt said stretching out on his favorite pillow.

"I know, peanut butter on fried chicken is amazing, it's like sex in a bucket"

"And of course you'd know that Reject"

"Shut up Mello" Reject said tossing a pillow at the blond playfully.

"Yeah…so Reject, I think Near has a crush on you" Matt said out of the blue turning his head slightly to look at Reject who in turn looked back at him like a cow looks at an on coming train.

"What?" Reject choked out in disbelief while Mello looked as though he was about to gag the life out of Matt for his comment.

"But it's true…I saw him in the hall today and I think I heard him say your name a few times…but then again he also looked pretty pissed off…what do you think Mello, do you think they'd make a cute couple-"

**_POW!_**

"OW! Jeez Mello it was a joke! But seriously…what's going on with you two anyway?" Matt asked honestly looking back at Reject hoping for answer.

"Nothing really, I can take care of my self if anything happens" Reject lied though she knew very well what was going on she didn't want to tell anyone for fear that no one would understand.

"Well, ok then if you insist" Matt said not sounding convinced at all.

"Right, well moving along, did you know that some countries have gay sheep in their flocks?" Reject said quickly changing the topic.

"Whoa, really? That's awesome" Mello replied sounding a bit entertained by this even though it was childish.

"It's true though, but it's kinda funny…when I first heard about it I thought it was supposed to be term solely for Near, ya know, I thought he literally was THE gay sheep" Reject laughed but was surprised when the other two boys didn't laugh in return.

Instead the boys stared blankly at her, Mello tried to keep himself from laughing and Matt just wore a worried look, and from those subtle hints alone Reject soon realized what was going on.

"…He's standing right behind me, isn't he…"Reject said with out turning around.

"You are correct Reject" a familiar and sinister voice sounded behind her that sent a chill down her spine and Reject slowly to see the ghostly white figure standing just in the doorway.

Reject's heart finally sank and she some how knew that her night been ruined, but what she didn't know was it was about to get much, much worse…

…And Near was going to make sure of that…


	7. Chapter 7

Behind white walls of dice 7

_" your friends will abandon you...and you will betray your friends"_

Reject walked slowly through the darkened corridors of Wammy's House, feeling tired, upset and fearful for what was about to happen to her. Near, after getting her to leave Matt and Mello's room, had already gone ahead and was probably waiting in their room for her.

She was afraid, beyond afraid, she was terrified though she kept walking down the darkened hallway towards whatever doom awaited her at the end. Shadows caressed the walls as she kept walking until she finally saw the glow of the white door in the darkness.

She stood in front of it, not moving an inch, unsure of what her next action should be. She didn't want to open the door because she already knew what was on the other side and that scared her even more, but she also knew there would be hell to pay if she didn't.

Taking a deep breath, Reject reached forward and grasped the round, silver doorknob and shakily turned it. The latch clicked and the door opened with a creak, slowly inching forward into the white-walled room.

"Come in, I've been waiting for you," an icy voice sounded from inside the room, that caused Reject to shudder in fear. She took one step forward, slowly, shakily, and then took another step, slowly inching herself into the dreaded room.

When she was finally inside the door slammed shut as if to symbolically say 'this is it, you're done for, get ready for the punishment.' With that thought in mind, she closed her eyes in the hopes that whatever it was would all be over soon.

The first thing she felt was the feeling of icy breath ghosting across her face, and she felt eyes on her own though she dared not open her own for fear of what she might see in those cold, black mirrors that were Near's eyes.

"You've been a very bad girl, Reject," Near spoke coldly, raising one of his hands to stroke an icy finger down Reject's cheek, which in turn caused her to shudder.

"You didn't do as you were told… You've been very bad indeed, and for that you shall be punished…" He said, allowing his hand to run down her neck to ghost around the contours of her clothed body.

Then, suddenly, Reject couldn't breathe when the familiar sensation of an icy hand locking around her neck returned and she knew exactly what was happening. She struggled slightly against his grip, but his hand remained relentlessly latched around her neck no matter what she did.

"Hmmm…what shall we do with you… what shall we do with you… I could do a great many things to you… But I think I have one thing in mind that I know will break you…" With that said, Near released his grip on her neck, letting her fall to the ground.

Reject sputtered a little, trying to suck in new oxygen, looking up at Near with terrified eyes. She saw a hand reach down towards her again, and she flinched when it grasped her chin.

"Hmmm, yes, I know exactly what I'm going to do to you." He said stoically, releasing her chin and bringing his hands up to his shirt. In a slow, casual, movement he began unbuttoning his white shirt, not trying to put on a show but still trying to look intimidating to Reject.

"…You can beat me …you can rape me… but you will never break me." Reject choked out defiantly, staring coldly up at Near with her deep, azure blue eyes.

"We will see about that," Near replied with his chest exposed, staring down with a smirk that looked almost as evil as Beyond's, though it could never be a match for him. Near let his white shirt fall to the floor before reaching down again.

This time he grabbed a hold of her grey tank top and roughly tore it off of her. Reject quickly brought her arms to her chest to cover herself as she turned away from the vicious albino.

"Hmmm…what a shame…I was expecting something a little better then…well,i_this_/i" Near said shaking his head before letting his eyes wander shamelessly over the partially naked girl's body for a moment.

"You're not the only one who's disappointed Near" Reject spat out venomously glaring up at the albino with azure eyes that were seething with hate. Near only snorted as he swiftly grab her arms and pulled her up off the floor and threw her on the bed.

Reject let out an indignant whine as she hit the mattress, but when she tried to sit up she was immediately pushed back down as a pair of ice cold white hands came down and locked them selves around her wrists.

Despite Reject accepting this as her punishment, she was by no means an agreeable individual. When Near wrestled with her she fought back, when he brutalized her she swore back, it was a countless battle of aggression and dominance.

Nails raked down Reject sides witch would probably leave marks that would surely remain in the morning. Near forcibly tried to remove more rest of Reject's clothing, to which Reject herself was being less then cooperative with.

After a long period of struggling Near finally managed to tie Reject's wrists to the headboard of the bed rendering her arms immobile yet her feet remained un-tethered and she kicked violently at the white haired beast above her.

After a long fight with Reject's legs, Near finally managed to get her jeans off. He forcefully pinned her legs down almost painfully and kept them there until Reject finally stopped struggling altogether and then he released her, which almost brought a smile to the albino's face.

"That's better…your struggling was beginning to annoy me" Near said running his hands up and down her sides.

"Oh does this mean you would have given up if kept going"

"No, I would have just sedated you and continued from there" Near replied stoically, bringing a hand up to grope one of Reject's still covered mounds. Her body trembled under his touch and she involuntarily moaned when his hand slipped under her bra to massage the heated flesh underneath.

"Hmmm…your nipples are already hard" Near said smugly bringing his other hand up to touch Reject's other mound.

"Wow Near, I didn't think you capable of dirty talk" Reject bit out between pants while Near expertly undid her bra with one hand and still, firmly clutching a swollen breast in the other.

"I'm not…I'm merely stating an observation, though I must admit…" Near leaned closer to her ear and pressed his bare chest against her now fully exposed breasts.

"…You look incredibly sexy when you're scared" He whispered softly then proceeded to lick the cup of her ear tenderly while resting his hand on her inner thigh in a teasing manner.

Near then trailed his tongue down to Reject's neck then opened his mouth to suck on the sensitive flesh. She tried her best to resist him but in the end she couldn't suppress the loud moan when Near gently bit down on the curve of her neck.

Even though Near was violating her he had stopped acting aggressive as soon as Reject stopped struggling, anger and hate were rushing through Reject's mind, hate for not only Near but for herself as well. His touches had become gentler, more soothing and to make it worse Reject was enjoying it.

Reject closed her eyes but soon jerked them open again when she felt a brush of silver colored hair the base of her neck. Near's mouth had moved from her neck to her shoulder and his cold and shamelessly wet lips were now working their way down her chest.

A pair of cold lips, glossed with saliva, descended upon the hardened nipple of Reject's left breast. Reject arched her back into a perfect U and she jerked about trying to get Near to stop, but the albino's firm grip kept her in place.

Reject let out a sudden yelp Near caught her sensitive bud in his teeth, which in turn caused him to abruptly stop his ministrations. Reject looked down at the albino who had settled himself in the valley of her breasts and was greeted with a shocking surprise.

Near's expression had changed to something that looked mildly apologetic which looked quite unusual, it least in Reject's case it did.

"I caused you pain…I am sorry" Near said softly nuzzling gently in between Reject's soft mounds.

"I-it's ok" Reject replied without thinking and she inwardly cursed herself and her natural selfless behavior. But then Near's face changed back to the unreadable, stoic mask that made him look a little less apologetic and a little more intimidating.

He then stepped of the bed and began to fumble with the button of his white pants, which didn't take long at all. Near let his pants fall to the floor and revealed a pair of white boxers with a large bulge protruding from them.

"Hmmm…I think now is a good time" the albino said softly as he grabbed the hem of his boxers and swiftly pulled them down. He wasn't big, no that wouldn't have described him at all, but looking at the hardened member that bobbed eagerly for attention Reject could see that there were magnets under that pale fresh, that was lined with tiny purple veins and surrounded by a mess of curled silver hair.

Her climbed back on top of her and almost immediately attacked her neck with his mouth and rocking his hips forward to grind his arousal against her leg. Reject was now moaning louder despite her attempts to resist Near's tender touches.

He then trailed icy, wet kisses down her body till he reached the edge of her underwear, then he stopped to look up at Reject with seductive eyes before smoothly removing the garment from her loins.

Reject turned away once she was completely bare, and the anxiety, if it hadn't been there before, was finally rearing its ugly head. Nothing could compare to the insecurity that was mounting up inside her mind but she remained strong even when Near pressed the tip of his nose against her damped folds.

Near inhaled deeply before letting out a content sigh and bringing his head back up to face her again. A devious smirk had spread itself across his face that slightly more creepy then all the other looks he'd given her. He then settled himself on top of her and positioned his member teasingly at her entrance.

"I'm not going to ask if your ready Reject…because frankly I really don't care" and with that said he roughly buried himself inside her. The move was so sudden that it caused Reject to cry out in shock at the intrusion and soon she felt tears streaming down her face.

Near leaned his head closer to hers and unexpectedly started licking the tears off her cheeks. Reject continued to whine indignantly till Near started nuzzling against the side of her face and began petting her hair gently.

"Shhhhhhh…relax…its ok…no ones going to hurt you…" the albino whispered soothingly kissing her gently on the cheek. Reject was confused, she didn't understand what was going on with his behavior, it was almost as though Near was two different people.

One minute he would be strangling her to death, the next minute he would be hugging her and cuddling against her and trying to make her feel safe and secure, and it really did make her feel completely baffled.

After a few moments of motionless activity, Near finally gave his first fluid thrust. Reject was very grateful that he was showing some common courtesy by going at a slow pace, so she closed her eyes and focused on the slow, tingling sensation.

She only opened her eyes when she started hearing strange gasping pants coming from above her. Reject looked up to see Near with his eyes half closed and his mouth wide open gasping like something was suffocating him.

To Reject he would have looked almost vulnerable accept for the pools of lust burning in his eyes. Then she finally realized what was happening and her eyes widened in disbelief…

"…Near…are you…a virgin?" Reject whispered quietly looking up at the albino who didn't answer back. Instead he started thrusting harder and faster almost to the point where Reject felt pain.

Near's face had contorted into a look of anger as he continued his aggressive thrusts causing Reject to start crying again, but luckily she was able to keep herself from screaming.

"Near…I'm…sorry…" Reject whimpered softly staring up at Near, eyes red with tears. Near had surprised her again by suddenly stopping and looking down at her with eyes so wide he could have easily been mistaken for some nocturnal mammal.

He remained still for a moment before rolling off of Reject, pulling out as he did. He then sat up facing away from her and a few moments later all that could be heard was the sound of flesh hitting flesh and hard panting.

After a while Near let out a final grunt, and the sound of slapping skin slowly stopped. He reached over with a shaky hand and pulled off one of his white socks and used it to clean himself. When he was done he threw the dirty sock on the floor and laid down next to Reject sighing tiredly as he did so but contently.

He a seemingly blank look on his face but Reject could see something hidden beneath the stoic expression, as if there was another unknown emotion that even Near himself couldn't identify. He continued to lay there for a brief moment before rolling over to face Reject and reaching up he untied her wrists.

Reject rubbed her sore wrists and sighing in relief at the feeling returning into her fingers. She rolled on to her side and felt Near come up from behind her and wrap his arms around and gently pull her into his chest.

The familiar sensation of being sheltered in someone's arms had awoken several memories of Beyond that nearly brought her to tears, but she held them in well.

_"I…Am your hiding place Reject…I can hide you from the world…your own personal hiding place just for you…where nothing can harm you…ever"_

A solemn tear that Reject couldn't hold back, trickled down her face before finally dropping off her chin. It must have landed on Near because at that moment the albino leaned in closer to press his lips against her cheek.

"Please…forgive me"

Reject didn't reply, she just laid there silently and closed her eyes. Even if Near meant what he said to her, it really didn't matter now, because form that point on she had changed…

…from that point on she was broken


	8. Chapter 8

Behind white walls of dice 8

_"Sometimes cheering up is necessary in order to reach such great accomplishments" _

Reject was in a daze. The room was still dark. She opened her eyes and groggily looked up at the luminous alarm clock. 3:35 am, Reject rubbed her eyes then tried to move only to find that she couldn't, then the painful reality finally struck.

Near had his face pressed against her back and his arm draped lazily around her. Reject froze for a moment before relaxing herself again to try to think of a plan of escape. She slowly twisted and inched herself away from the slumbering albino.

When she finally managed to slip on to the floor without waking him up, she quietly gathered up all of her things into her suitcase and got dressed. She turned one final time to Near who still remained asleep.

"This is how much I hate you" She whispered softly into the night before finally turning and leaving the room. Little did she know that Near was awake and heard every word, but also did nothing to stop her when she disappeared into the night.

"I know…and I honestly don't blame you…I hate myself as well…"

For the rest of the month Reject remained as a shadow. No one saw her or heard from her even when she was working she successfully managed to stay unseen. She continued keeping the house clean not just because it was her job but because the house it self meant a lot to her and she took a lot of pride in making sure it was properly maintained.

She also increased her work time from 12 hour a day to a full 23 hours not leaving her a lot of time to sleep but she really didn't mind since she hardly slept nowadays.

Her diet also took a drastic turn to the point where she almost stopped eating altogether. She had stopped eating on the job to increase her efficiency. The only time she would allow herself to indulge in any kind of nourishment was after dinner when everyone else had eaten she would have some of the table scraps.

Despite her declining health Reject was mightily proud of herself. She was able to keep the house clean on an hourly basis, but still she knew that no matter how clean she made the house, she would still a cold emptiness longing to be filled.

It was one particularly lonely day she found herself sitting in the broom closet. She had cleaned every inch of the house to the point where there was nothing to clean anymore so she had to find something else to preoccupy her self with.

The batteries in her walkman died a while ago so that option was out so she finally settled with doing something else she was also surprisingly good at, Singing.

_ Give up_  
_If you wanna survive_  
_Get oh so alive_  
_In your life everything_  
_Falling out the sky on top of you_  
_Now what you do_

The sound of her voice vibrating off the walls was incredibly satisfying for Reject to hear.

_Set yourself up now_  
_It's the love of your life_  
_Shed a lead on me_  
_All I know before it's gone_  
_I always feel it's getting me down_  
_When nothing's wrong_

_What's the matter with me?_  
_What's the matter with me, me, me _

Just hearing her own voice echoing off the metal walls was enough to bring a weak but pleasant smile to her thin face.

_Give up_  
_If you wanna survive_  
_Pick the sun back up_  
_You got to get on the song, lowly_  
_What's the point_  
_It's funny till you're left to kill yourself_  
_In this town_

_So what's the matter with me?_  
_What's the matter with me_  
_What's the matter with me_  
_What's the matter with me, me, me…_

A sudden pang in her stomach caused Reject to curl into a partial fetal position holding her self tightly. Then a familiar smell caught her by surprise, a smell of something she'd been craving for a month.

She slowly sat up and opened the metal door and peered out into the hallway. There sitting on a ceramic plate just outside her closet was a peanut butter sandwich. Reject's mouth watered at the site of it but she did her best to resist the urge to lunge out and devour it.

She poked her head out into the hallway. It was completely deserted except for her and the sandwich. She looked back down at the plate eyeing it wearily, it didn't look poisoned but still she remained cautious.

While still crouching down she hobbled out of the closet and reached down to pick up the sandwich when suddenly the plate moved. Reject quickly recoiled her hand on reflex and almost hopped back into the closet.

After recovering from the shock she reached for the plate again, and of coarse, when her hand came within an inch of the sandwich it moved again. This time however the plate moved completely out of reach.

Reject, who was still hungry and now aggravated, stood straight up and walked over to the plate determined to get that sandwich. She reached down quickly to snatch up the sandwich but this time it sped off down the hallway causing Reject to trip and fall flat on her face.

A long forgotten feral desire erupted from her and she swiftly got on all fours and bounded after the plate that continued skidding down the hallway. She chased it around a corner snarling like a wild animal.

The plate finally reached its destination through an open door at the end of one of the hallways and Reject lunged after it with all the strength she had left. She careened through the door and into the vacant room and dove down and the plate knocking the sandwich into the air.

With her cat like reflexes she caught the sandwich with ease which was rather surprising considering how much of a klutz she was.

"NYAHAHAHA! I'VE GOT YOU NOW -AWAY SANDWICH!" Reject cackled before taking a large bite out of it. Then suddenly the door to the room slammed shut quite abruptly, closing Reject inside.

"Y'know you're a difficult person to get a hold of" a voice sounded from a shadow in the corner of the room.

"Yeah your also really noisy eater when your half starved" a second voice sounded from another corner of the room. The lights finally came on and there stood both Matt and Mello with very concerned looks on their faces.

"Oh uhh…hey guys…how's it going?" Reject asked nervously inching toward the door but her advances to escape were halted when Mello stood behind her. Then suddenly they both grabbed her and started dragging her off.

"Gah! Let me go!" Reject tried to struggle but her body was too weak from exhaustion and she soon fell limp in their arms her eyes blurring. She felt herself being carried out of the room and some place else that felt stagnant.

Her boots were then pried off of her feet and her trench coat and most of her clothing had been pealed off of her. She then felt herself being set down and she suddenly sensed another presence in the room.

"Good you're here Gill, can you please take a look at her" A familiar voice spoke. Then she rubber gloved hands poke and prod at her body.

"Hmmm…she appears to be suffering from malnutrition as well as some obvious signs of severe over exhaustion…and her lymph glands are quite swollen which suggest an infection…I'm going to give her some sedatives to help her sleep and an antibiotic to take care of the infection in her then I'll hand her over to you two…have her sleep for the next 3 days, don't let out of bed and make sure she well fed…"

"Ok no problem Gill, Matt and me can take care of that"

"Excellent, now there's one thing I need to know"

"Yeah what's that?"

"What happened to her…how did she get to this state?"

"We…don't know…but we're going to find out as soon as she's better"

"Good…"

The next thing Reject felt was a rubber tie being tightly wrapped around her forearm. She shuffled after feeling something sharp prick her arm and then two sets of hands came down and held her.

"Re-Re please try and relax…Gill's just giving you a shot"

That didn't make Reject any better and with eyes still blurry and with a mind that felt like it was submerged in a fish tank she struggled hard against to boy's grip. Then a pair of soft hands cupped her cheeks.

"Re-Re please calm down…no ones going to hurt you ok…I'm right here ok" Reject looked up to see the fuzzy form of the blond and redhead came into view and she finally settled down. She felt a momentary pain in her arm and then finally the tie was released.

The hands released her and then picked her up again and carried her off. She felt herself fading fast thanks to the injection. Her eyes felt heavy and her body had gone numb but she could still feel the strong hands underneath her, carrying her to what ever fate await her when she awoke.

"Don't Worry Re-Re…we're going to take care of you for now…"


	9. Chapter 9

Behind white walls of dice 9

_ "We're one big happy family…a big happy dysfunctional family but a family none the less" _

Reject awoke to find herself in strange surroundings. Her normal attire had been changed and she was now clothed in thick, cotton sleepwear and tucked into a warm bed with clean and crisp white sheets.

Reject could not believe how comfortable it was and she let out a deeply relaxed yawn before snuggling down into the soft interior of the warm blankets. After a while she heard the door to the room open but she didn't stir.

Shuffled footsteps came across the hardwood floor, but still Reject remained buried in the blankets, and she continued savoring the soft and warm feeling even when the footsteps stopped at the edge of the bed.

"Mello, get up, we've got class in 5 minutes"

_"?"_

"Mmmm... Yeah I'm coming Matt…just give me a sec to wake up"

Reject felt shuffling right next to her but she didn't move an inch not because she too comfortable, but because she didn't know if they knew she was there. A discontented grunt came from beside the bed.

"Damn it Mello get out of bed and let's go! We're gonna be late!"

Reject a hand come out of nowhere and shake her quite roughly. Now at this point any sane person would have announced their presents at that point but Reject however, did nothing. She simply sat back and waited to see how long it would take the redhead to realize that he was trying to shake awake the wrong person.

"Mmmmm no…sleep goooood" the blond murmured hiding under the covers next to the green haired teen.

"C'mon Mello!" Matt shouted grabbing a hold of the sheet.

"C'mon man I don't want to get detention agai-" Matt yanked the blanket off only to find Reject lying there smirking tiredly.

"OK OK! I'M UP-whoa!...morning Re-Re" Mello said shyly before stepping over Reject and out of bed.

"Morning guys, I was wondering how long it would take for you to notice I was here" Reject said giving a smug grin.

"Sorry Re-Re, I didn't mean to wake you…did you sleep well?" Matt asked scratching back of his head.

"Yup…that's probably been the best sleep I've had since…well, a lot time"

"Since B right?"

Reject suddenly went silent at the very mention of her lover's name, and she looked away from the boys for a moment.

"Oh, sorry Re-Re, I didn't mean it like that" Mello said apologetically putting a hand on Reject's shoulder in a comforting way.

"Its ok, if you want I'll explain it later" Reject replied sitting up on the edge of the bed and stretching herself out and looking over at the clock.

"ummm you guys do realize its only 6:30" Reject said looking up at the boys with a mildly confused look .

"Oh, it's the advanced classes that usually run before breakfast, Matt made sign up for Trigonometry" Mello answered while throwing a shirt on. Reject was about to stand only to have both Matt and Mello push her down again.

"Oof! Hey!"

"Hey! You're staying in bed today"

"Oh C'mon you guys I feel fine" Reject said getting to her feet defiantly.

"See nothing to worry abou-whoa!"

And when Reject got up she nearly collapsed but luckily the boys were there to grab her before she lost balance.

"Nothing to worry about, eh?" Mello bantered teasingly laying Reject back down in bed and tucking her in. Reject folded her arm looking up at the boys with a pout.

"Now, Now Reject, Gill said to make sure you got plenty of rest, now why don't you go back to sleep, ok, we'll be back at breakfast to make sure you get something to eat" Matt said giving her a warm smile and ruffling her hair before following Mello out of the room.

Reject sighed disapprovingly and rolled over facing the wall. She really didn't want to sleep, she wanted to get back to cleaning the house but for some reason or other her body objected against this and she felt her eyes become heavy again and soon she slipped back into slumber.

A lumbering albino slumped through the hallways of Wammy's House. He had heard a rumor that the young janitor that had gone missing was not only found but had been forced to take the next few days off for health reasons.

To be perfectly honest, he didn't if she was taking time off for health reasons or not, he was, more or less, glad that Reject was alright seeing as how she had not shown her face in an entire month.

He blamed himself and his actions for Reject's disappearance and now I'll health. Since that night where he had broken her, he himself hadn't been able to sleep nor eat, too ashamed of his behavior.

He finally stopped at the door to one of the dorm rooms. The room obviously belonged to Matt and Mello but he had heard a rumor that Reject was staying with them for the mean time until she was fit to work again.

He took a deep breath and opened the door. The room was fairly bright, the sun poured in from the window nearly blinded the albino as he entered the room. There on one of the beds, her face half covered by blankets, the young green haired misfit lay sound asleep.

The boy inched himself closer to her bed carefully so as to not wake her. He reached down to pull the blanket down so it was not covering her face. To him she really was beautiful, her face was pale but it glowed like that of the moon.

Her lips were small but they were also innocent with the way they were always pursed together, but aside from her smooth pale skin and sweet young lip the one thing that stood out the most on her was her green hair.

It did seem rather strange that he would be allured to something so unnatural looking. It wasn't a green that you would be disgusted by. No, it was a very relaxing color to look at, very soft too, not the greasy and dirty he was expecting when he first felt it.

The silver headed boy leaned over the bed and reaching down ran a finger gently down the side of her face. A sleepy purr came from the young girl and the albino gave a small pleased smile.

"Hmmmm…Beyond?" She moaned quietly and the boy pulled his hand away. A sudden pain hit him in the chest as if something had hit him. He shook his head dismissing the feeling and looked up at the clock.

It was almost 9:30 and he knew it wouldn't be a smart idea to be caught in Mello's room so he turned to leave sparing one last glance at the bedridden girl before finally walking out.

"I am sorry…but why do you still love_ him_"


	10. Chapter 10

Behind white walls of dice 10

_"Trust is your weakness…" _

Reject jolted awake from her slumber. She could have sworn someone was just in the room with her but she soon dismissed it as a bad dream and flopped back down on to the bed.

"Oh what have I gotten my self into" Reject murmured softly staring up at the ceiling. These last few months for her really had been, for lack of a better term, strange.

Between keeping the house clean, dealing with Near's eccentric nympho-erotic behavior, trying to get educated and almost starving herself out of pride had made her pretty unhealthy to say the least.

"Oh well, life's a bitch and then you marry her, right?" Reject uttered with a sigh rolling over on her side ad facing the wall. Then suddenly the door to the room opened and she rolled back over to see Matt and Mello come walking in with a silver tray.

"Morning Re-Re, we brought you some breakfast" Mello announced coming over to the bed and settling the tray on the bedside table. Reject sat smiling at the two boys tiredly before letting out a tired yawn and stretching her arms above her head.

"Yeah we weren't sure if there was anything else you liked besides peanut butter so we brought you waffles and some other stuff" Matt said pointing to the silver tray. The tray did have a good selection on it and Reject almost immediately dug in but stopped a moment and looked up at the boys.

"Something wrong Re-Re?"

"Why are you guys being so nice to me…not that I don't appreciate it but still, why are you going to this much trouble over me?"

Both boys said nothing, but instead the both of them sat on either side of her and draped an arm around her neck. Reject looked confused for a moment then smiled when she saw they're goofy grins gleaming at her.

"We don't necessarily need a reason to help someone who needs it, and besides we like you" both Matt and Mello said unanimously before they roughly pushed Reject down on the bed and started tickling her.

After her ticklish assault, both Matt and Mello gathered their books for their afternoon class and finally left the room leaving Reject to lay and vegetate for the rest of the afternoon though she had a very difficult time doing so.

After about an hour she couldn't take it anymore and she threw the covers off of her and sat up. She let out an irritated sigh then looked around the room. It was considerably messy with bits of clothes lying about along with some trash.

"Well I'm sure they wouldn't mind it if I cleaned up in here, it looks could use a good cleaning" She said getting to her feet and walking over to a pile of laundry and began sorting it.

Once it was all the laundry was separated with the dirty laundry put in the hamper and the clean laundry neatly folded and placed in the drawers, she then when to tidy the rest of the room until it was completely spotless.

When she was done she settled herself back on the bed feeling very pleased with her accomplishment. She leaned back on her elbows, looked out the window and watched the clouds pass by.

After a while the door opened again and this time it was only Matt. Matt looked at the room, then looked up at Reject then casually pushed up his goggles to reveal a strange look.

"Looks like somebody got a little restless" Matt said looking wide eyed at Reject who smiled shyly looking up at the redhead with innocent eyes. Matt only shrugged and went to sit down in his beanbag chair.

"Well it did need to be tidied up sooner or later, I just hope Mello doesn't get too pissed off, he gets a bit bitchy when you touch his things" Matt going over to one of his systems and letting out a surprised gasp.

"Whoa! You sorted all of my games AND you put them in alphabetical order!"

"Y-yes I did, I 'm sorry, I won't do it again if you don't like it"

"Don't like it? Re-Re this is the most considerate thing someone's ever done for me, thank you"

"Uhhh…y-your welcome"

He was about to pull a game off his newly organized shelf when he suddenly stopped. He came over to Reject on the bed wearing a look of concern as he sat down beside her.

"What happened to you a month ago?" He asked in a somewhat serious tone putting a hand on her shoulder. Reject paused unsure of how to react or even answer but judging by her look alone it didn't take genius to figure out something was wrong.

"…He did something to you, didn't he" Matt stated rather then asked and Reject still remained quiet, her memories were too painful to put into words, her experiences too painful to share.

"R…you need to tell me what he did to you"

"…"

"For god sakes Reject! Tell me! Please!"

"I Can't!"

"Please Re-Re, you have too, I can't stand seeing you like this"

"NO! You wouldn't understand!"

"Well maybe if you'd just explain it to me then I might understand"

"No! No! NO!"

"REJECT!"

He stood in front of her now and kneeling down on one knee and grasped her hand between his palms and stared up at her with loving eyes, which strangely enough had turned from cobalt blue to a solid green.

"Reject…R…ReRe…please tell me" the redhead said softly bringing one of his hands up to Reject's face to brush a stray hair as well as to wipe away the tears that were beginning to form.

"…He…did…something…"Reject choked out grasping tightly on to Matt's hand and weeping softly into the palm of hand that was still against her face.

Before she realized it she was in his lap clinging to him like a child, no not just like a child, like an orphan. Matt held her close to him, keeping her head under his chin and rubbing her back gently to clam her.

"It's ok Reject…We're going to Roger about this"

"NO! We can't tell anybody about this" Reject turned in his lap to face the red head with her eyes full of worry and shock.

"But why? You were violated weren't you? Shouldn't you let a higher authority know about this?"

"Matt I would consider doing that except there's one small detail which you failed to notice"

"Yeah and what's that?"

"Near is underage"

"So are you, what's your point?"

Reject sighed and turned away from the gamer with a very disappointed look on her face.

"Matt…I'm a year older then him"

"So"

"Matt! Does 'Statutory Rape' mean anything to you! If I turn him in and if Roger confronts him he could easily turn around and say I seduced him! I already have a record for assisting in the LABB murders so I'm not exactly the most innocent of people"

Matt's were wide and this time they change back to the usual cobalt color and his look became sadder.

"Can we tell Mello at least?"

"No…We absolutely can't tell Mello, he already doesn't get along with Near and I think it would only increase the chance of Roger finding out, so lets just keep this between us ok?"

Matt sighed and pulled her into a hug, the embrace was short but enjoyable and Reject turned in his lap faced him again this time swinging a leg over so she could look him straight in the eyes.

"Matt, swear to me you will not tell a soul of this, this will be our little secret so you can't tell anyone, ok?"

"Re-Re I swear from the bottom of my heart I won't anyone about this and if I do you have permission to burn my original copy of _Legend of Zelda_ for the old NES…or just kick me in the balls"

Both Reject and Matt laughed but then suddenly the redhead got very quiet and a reddish tint started glowing off him and shy smile gracing over his lips. Reject was confused for a moment till finally she realized where she was sitting.

She was straddling him with her thighs hugging the sides of his hips and her groin was just barely touching his. In this position she would have moved sooner, but unfortunately Matt had placed his arm around her back preventing her from moving.

"Oh god Matt I'm so sorry! why does this keep happening to meep!-" Reject was quite abruptly cut off when she found Matt's lips pressing against hers. She sat in shock for a few seconds before making an attempt to push him away.

Matt held her in place, his still pressing gently against her back and soon Reject stopped resisting altogether and her hands snaked them selves around the redhead's neck earning an audible purr from him. Reject broke away from him breathing heavily and looking up to that Matt's eyes had changed back to green.

"W-we shouldn't be d-doing this, we s-should sto-" Before Reject could finish Matt cut her off with his lips again and pushed her down on the bed in a playful manner. Matt's mouth trailed downward to Reject's neck and nipped affectionately causing her breathing to hitch.

"Matt…p-please…s-stop" Reject gasped out and suddenly did Matt stop pulling away with wide eyes. He rolled off of Reject and on to his back to the left of her showing a guilty look.

"I'm sorry Re-Re…I…I don't know what came over me" He admitted pushing his goggles back down. Reject rolled over and rested her head on his chest and let out a heavy sigh.

"It's ok…I couldn't help my self either" Reject admitted looking up at the redhead with an apologetic face. Matt brought his hand around to Reject's back and started rubbing it again gently. Just then the door opened and Mello walked in and both Matt and Reject looked up from their place on the bed.

When Mello saw the rest of the room his expression had gone from pissed off, to horrified, to the 'Holy Fucking Shit! What The Fuck Did You Do' look, but then his eyes settled on the 2 of them cuddling on the bed then his look of anger became a look of suspicion and he came toward the bed.

"What are you two doing lying together like that?" Mello asked eying them wearily. Both Reject and Matt had gone completely red and promptly sat up. Mello smirked and sat down between the 2 of them.

"So you guys are smitten now eh?"

"MELLO!"

"Hey, no need to get offended I'm just asking is all"

"It's nothing like that! We were just cuddling!"

"Just cuddling?"

"YES! Just cuddling! Now will you just drop it!"

"Why? are you hiding something?"

"We're not hiding anything!"

"Well fine, be like that, I'm gonna go get some lunch I'll see you two love birds later" Mello huffed starting toward the door. When he got to it he turned to face them again showing devious smirk.

"Oh yeah, also if you two decide to get frisky, make sure you put the cowboy hat on the doorknob so I know when to knock"

"GET OUT OF HERE MIHAEL!" Matt shouted tossing a pillow at the blond who simply shut the door and laughed. Matt laid back down on the bed and Reject laid next to him and looked up at him.

His eyes changed again this time they went back to blue. She gathered that his eyes changed with his mood.

"So what are we gonna do now?" Reject asked tilting her head to side to place emphasis on the question.

"I don't know…sit I guess"

Reject laid her head back down on Matt's chest and sighed contently. Matt responded back by wrapping an arm around her and running his fingers up and down her spine savoring every little reaction she made.

For Reject, she would admit she was in love with the boy, even if it seemed that way she would deny it until she was blue in the face. Because in the end there was away someone else on her mind…


	11. Chapter 11

Behind white walls of dice 11

"…You will be alone in the end…"

About two days later Reject was finally allowed to go back to work under the condition that she would not overwork herself and take appropriate brakes and she would eat properly.

Reject was not too thrilled about cutting her workload in half but she wasn't in any position to argue with Mello, Matt and Gill so she cooperated with them since it was the easiest rout, at least on a brighter note she was allowed to stay in their room.

*****************ONE*WEEK*LATER*********************

October 13th

Fall was finally in the air and the trees were shedding their leaves and the sun gave a lovingly warm harvest glow. The chill in the air was crisper and more refreshing but of all that was that Reject would be working outside more.

It was one particular afternoon, the sun was shining and shades of yellowy orange and reddish browns covered the floor of the mighty forests that the orphanage backed on to. Reject was raking the leaves (or rather raking into a pile and jumping into them) when suddenly she heard a voice rip through the air.

_"!"_

Reject bolted up out of the leaf pile and ran toward the scream thinking that someone was in trouble, instead she found Linda standing in front a large wooden easel with a half panting upon it.

"Hey Linda, what's wrong?" Reject asked tilting her head to one showing a look of mild concern. Linda sighed and turned around looking rather upset and looking past her shoulder to the canvas behind her Reject could see why.

There at the corner of the unfinished painting were some crudely drawn and quite offensive pictures that were hastily painted over a finished part of the canvas.

"Damn him! Damn him and his cronies!" Linda yelled clenching her fist angrily.

"Sorry if this seems like a completely clueless question, but exactly who are you damning?" Reject asked sounding dreadfully confused.

"Oh I'm sorry ReRe I thought you would know about them" Linda replied bashfully sitting down on her stool in front of her easel.

"It's Ickarus and his boys Hal and Dirge, I'm surprised you haven't heard of them, with all the stunts they pull on a daily basis I thought for sure they would have done at least something to you" Linda explained letting out a tired sigh looking back at her ruined work.

"Would you like me to go speak to them for you?"

"Oh ReRe you don't have to do that, and also I wouldn't want you to suffer from they're ridicule too"

"Oh don't worry Linda I've got some tricks up my sleeve for handling a bunch of snot nosed brats even if their genius snot nosed brats" Reject smiled putting a hand on Linda's shoulder like a mentor.

"Let me handle this hun" and with that Reject stood up and walked off around to the other side of the house. She didn't need to look far when she came upon three young boys that just so happened to be toilet papering the north wing of the house.

"Hmmm I don't you but I bet you that if Roger saw you doing this he'd be pretty pissed, however I'll make a deal with you, if you go apologize to Linda for wrecking her painting I'll clean up the mess and I won't tell Roger, deal?"

The boys looked up at Reject then looked at each other then burst out laughing. Reject was not amused by any standard and she watched as the burnet of the tree boys stood up and came toward her.

"Here a new deal, how's about you go run along and we won't rearrange your face, deal?" The burnet said as the other two boys laughed and circled Reject in a threatening manner.

"You know, I really did not want to use this but you unfortunately need to be taught a lesson in respect" Reject reached into her pocket and pulled a small silver whistle. She put the whistle between her lips and blew it three times.

A sudden chill swept trough the air, and the pale blue form of A suddenly appeared behind the burnet baring a shy toothy smile.

**_" 'Ello Reject, you called?" _**the spirit asked gently in a sweet boyish British accent. Reject didn't say anything back but she did acknowledge him with a simple nod.

_**"Ah, you want me to take care of these little twats for you love?"**_ A asked grinning mischievously. Once again Reject didn't say anything but instead inclined her head in such a way that it seemed as if she was saying 'Go ahead, knock yourself out' and A was more then willing to.

"Ok little Ms. Retard, you need to learn why you don't mess with m-AAAHHHHHH!"

Before the burnet could finish his underwear was magically pulled up out of the back of his pants and over his head in a, for lack of a better term, atomic weggy. The other boys stared in aw as the burnet flailed about blindly trying to get his tighty-whities off of his face.

"What the fuck? What the fuck did you do?" one of the boys hollered at the sight of their ring leader.

"Me? I didn't do anything…But _A's_ ghost did" Reject said with slightly sinister face. Then just as suddenly as before, a white sheet was swiftly pulled from the need clothes line and had come flying toward the boys in a haunting fashion.

"Oh no, here he comes, you better go apologize now before he gets even angrier" Reject said darkly as the floating sheet swept toward them. The boys quickly got to they're feet and ran off to the other side of the house.

Reject slowly walked over and peeked around the corner of the house to see something she did not expect. The boys were apologizing and Reject could hardly believe it the unexpected civility from the boys.

"Thanks A, I owe you one" Reject said giving her living impaired a high-five. A laughed a very ghoulish laugh and floated off but before turning to face Reject again.

_**"Your welcome, it was a lot of fun"**_A said finally before floating off into the autumn sky. Reject waved casually before turning to walk over to where Linda sat baring a warm and welcoming smile.

"Thank you so much ReRe, now maybe those boys will think twice before causing anymore trouble" Linda said thankfully setting herself back on her stool and returning to her painting.

Reject started back inside feeling incredibly proud having done a good service to the orphanage. So happy in fact that she had a slight need to reward herself with a nice big jar of peanut butter so she started in the direction of the kitchen.

When she got there the door to the kitchen suddenly opened and Near stepped out. Reject stood back in shock and strangely enough so did Near to some extent even if it was a little vague. They both stood staring at each other before Reject finally stepped back further and turned and walked off.

Her good mood was now gone thanks to that wretched albino Near, but it didn't matter she could always get her peanut butter later when Near wasn't around. Reject went upstairs and started sweeping down the hallway.

She continued sweeping for about 15 minutes before stopping for a short break. She sat with her back against the wall in the hallway. There was silence for a few moments before she suddenly heard a series of rustling coming from one of the many rooms in the hallway.

Curiosity took hold of her as Reject got to her feet to investigate the sudden commotion. She stopped at a door that was open about an inch. She quietly crouched down beside the door and peeked inside.

She saw Matt, Mello and Near sitting in there along with L, and Roger across from the boys. Reject sat and observed not making a sound and keeping her eye focused through the crack.

"Ok, what's going on L, what's going on? Why have you called this meeting?" Mello asked impatiently. L licked his sugar covered fingers before facing the blond with a stoic expression.

"There is something I need to discuss with all of you, there maybe some changes that are about to happen and I wish to hear your opinions on the matter before I start" L said taking another sugar cube and depositing it in his mouth.

"Is it about who you're going to pick to be the next in line for your position" Mello asked eagerly throwing Near a dirty look before turning to face L again.

"No Mello it's something far more important, this is concerning R" Reject had to cup her hand over her mouth to cover the massive gasp that followed the shock.

"She's not in trouble is she? C'mon she's worked 12 to 24 hour shifts for you so I think she's got the right to indulge, cut her some slack she's human too"

"That's enough Mail, and no she is not in any trouble" L said firmly taking a sip of his tea before setting it down.

"When R had returned a month and a half ago did any of you notice anything peculiar about her?" L asked resting a thumb on his lip methodically.

"What do mean?"

"What I mean is did you see her perform an activity that for some reason she excelled beyond expectation?"

"Huh?"

"In simple terms, when you play with her did she out skill you in what ever you were doing?"

All of the boys were silent and then Matt and Mello finally raised their hands in conformation.

"I caught her playing one of my games and she beat my score by 1,000,000 points" Matt said scratching the back of his head.

"That is intriguing but I don't think video games qualify, now Mello what did you find interesting"

"…Well…I found her in the firing range and she told me she never fired a gun before so it would be good if she knew how, and she first unloaded the clip into the target I was surprised to find that she was almost a better shot then me"

L gently nibbled on his thumb, silently debating what Mello told him before turning to face Near who was sitting on the floor quietly assembling his puzzle not bothering to glance up at L.

"Well how about you, did you see any strange behavior?"

"…"

"Well Near?"

"…No comment…"

L sighed looking down at Near before turning to face the rest of the group and picking up his tea. He took a long sip from it before placing it back on the table and settling his hands on his knees.

"Matt, Mello and Near, do to the current events that have taken place, R, Reject Reborn shall be added to the current line up for my position as for L-"

**_ CLATTER!_**

Near had his puzzle raised above his and the pieces were all falling out on to the floor clattering loudly as they did. Near turned to face L baring deeply disgruntled look and he placed the puzzle board back down on the.

"What are you thinking" Near asked in a firm and cold voice.

"What do you mean Near?"

"Don't you think your being a little hasty with your decision?"

"Not at all, if anything I don't I've been hasty enough, she has been ignored since the very first day she arrived here"

"So you are going to automatically a give spot in line for a position that the rest of us had to work towards"

"Near, there is no need for such hostility, she will be properly tested when the time com-"

"YOU MISUNDERSTAND ME!" Near's outburst was enough cause L to shift back in his chair.

"I, Matt and Mello have rightfully earned our position as protégé, she has not, she has been uneducated since she first came here, there is no need for anymore competition, especially since there will be no challenge with her"

Reject was hurt emotionally and physically, she never even realized that Near hated her this much. She didn't know what to do in this situation, if she did become his heir she would be high expectations that would push her far beyond her limitations but if she failed and didn't become his heir she would be seen as nothing more as a shameful symbol of Wammy's House.

Completely over whelmed by all the information she took in she quickly got up and started running, she didn't care how much noise she was making she needed to get out of there. Get out, get away from L, get out of Wammy's, anywhere but Wammy's, that was the only thing going through her mind as she ran out the door.

By this time the sun had already set and the sky and the area had darkened quite a bit. Reject kept running, and she ran straight into darkened woods, not caring about direction she went she just kept going.

After about a kilometer of running she finally stopped by tripping over an exposed root. Upon landing she heard sickening crack in her left foot, then the pain finally registered and it became so unbearable she couldn't move.

At this point it was completely dark and air itself had become colder as the winds blew. Reject just laid there, too weak to move even when it started raining she didn't move, she was in too much pain to anything.

Rain saturated her clothes, penetrating deep into her skin and chilling her to the bone but still she lay there, unmoving, alone, like she had lost all hope and the will to go on. She was about to pass out from the cold when she voices in the darkness.

"R…ReRe…Reject! Reject where are you?"

Voices calling her name, but she didn't care, it didn't matter anymore. She felt worthless around them. Then sudden she heard a noise around her that sounded like a large animal, and Reject sat perfectly still in the hopes that what ever it was would move on.

As luck would have it, the animal wouldn't leave. Reject was worried because she knew there were wolves in the area but she remained calm even when it came within an inch of her. Then something out of the ordinary happened.

"Hmmmm…This green possum plays dead when no predators are around… interesting…" It spoke in a gravely voice that seemed quiet and shy. Reject opened one eye and was greeted by a pair of yellow eyes.

"…Hmmmm…It could be you think me a predator…or perhaps maybe it's something else…" It spoke again. Then suddenly a rustling came from one of the many bushes and something tall and white stepped out.

"Hmmm...White owl what is it?..."

"Relax Timber Wolf…I'm here to collect the girl…"

"This Green possum is a friend of yours?"

"Yes she is, that's what L and the others were out looking for"

The wild man pondered what the albino said but soon nodded in acceptance when he heard more voices calling out.

"Very well, I shall inform the alpha L that she is found-"

"No!"

"What?"

"No, I will be the one to inform him, thank you Timber" Near walked over to Reject and lifted her off the ground. Reject let out a painful groan when she was picked up, mind was already in a blur and was beginning to pass out pain in her ankle.

"Well if you insist" Timber replied warily before leaping off into the trees. Near carried on through the woods at a slow pace, taking his good sweet time. It's was raining harder now and a low rumble echoed across the sky.

"I know…you may never forgive me…be if anything I should be apologizing…but don't worry…"

"…I'll make sure nothing happens to you"


	12. Chapter 12

Behind white walls of dice 12

_"…You're unbelievable…but you're special…" _

Reject finally awoke feeling groggy and in an immense amount of pain. Nearly every part of her body hurt. Then she finally realized where she was…

…She was back in Near's room.

She sat up, grunting in discomfort at every move she made. She got her feet on the floor and quickly stood, but when she did an electric shock of pain shot up her let caused her to collapse but luckily someone caught her before she hit the ground.

"What do you think your doing?" A cold voice asked and Reject immediately recognized it with out looking up.

"I'm going back to work I can't be laying here doing nothing" Reject protested struggling against Near's frozen grip.

"No you are not, not in the condition you're in" Near said stoically as he pulled her back to the bed and laid her down and tucked her in. Reject sat up crossing her arms and frowned at him like a child not getting her way.

"Now is there anything I can get for you?" Near asked patiently looking down at Reject expecting a reply. Reject didn't say anything as she turned away to look at the wall beside her.

"Look Reject you're not going back to work, your ankle is broken and if you try to stand on it you'll make it worse, now will you please cooperate I'm trying to help you" Near said patiently. Reject looked back at him and sighed in defeat.

"All right fine, bring me a jar of peanut butter" Reject grunted hunching over in a very grumpy manner. Near turned to leave but then suddenly stopped and turned to face her again.

"By the way…I'm sorry…"

He left before Reject could answer him. She was very confused but didn't think much of it and just laid back down on the bed and looked up at the window. Gray clouds blanketed the sky and threatened a thunderstorm outside and Reject sighed tiredly.

After a while of waiting the door opened again but this time instead of Near entering it was Matt wearing a warm smile. Reject smiled as he stepped in and surprisingly enough he was carrying a jar of peanut butter.

"So I guess Near sent you didn't he?" Reject asked smugly sitting up in the bed.

"Yeah something like that, hey, how's your ankle feeling?" Matt asked sitting down on the edge of the bed and handing the jar over to Reject.

"Still quite painful, but I can manage it" She said reaching for the peanut butter. It was a lie but she didn't care, she didn't want to anyone to get worried. She opened the jar and began munching on the peanutty goodness when suddenly a low rumble from out alarmed her.

"Is something wrong ReRe?" Matt asked showing a look of concern though his orange tinted goggles. A sudden flash and Reject leaped out of bed and crawled under the bed.

"ReRe what's going on with you?" Matt asked coming down on to the floor and looking under the bed.

"M-Matt…p-please don't tell anyone…I'm afraid of-"

_**CRASH! RUUUUUUUMMMMMMBLE!**_

Reject flinched again and buried deeper under the bed. Matt crawled under as well and sat beside her, putting his arm around her shoulder. Another flash of light and Reject flinched clinging to Matt's chest.

"Hey ReRe it ok, there's nothing to be afraid of, I've got ya" Matt spoke soothingly while gently rubbing her back. The rain continued to pound against the window but at least the thunder was beginning to die down.

When the rain finally quieted down Reject released her hold on to the gamer and crawling out form under the bed. She sat down on the bed looking a little embarrassed and Matt came and sat down beside her.

"I'm sorry Matt"

"No, no, ReRe it's nothing to be ashamed about" Matt replied placing a hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner. Reject sighed and looked out the window once more. The raining had almost stopped but it was still quite cloudy.

"So did B ever find out you were afraid of thunderstorms ReRe?"

"Yeah he found out"

"Did he comfort you? Did he hold you until the storm past?"

"No…he made fun of me and called me a cowered"

"That's terrible"

"That's life" Reject shrugged and flopped down on the bed and then Matt promptly flopped down beside her.

"Hmmmm you know, Near's probably gonna be back any minute now and if he catches you in here he'll probably get you in trouble with Roger" Reject said turning on her side to face the redhead.

"Yeah you're probably right, I should probably get going then, see you later then"

"Yeah see ya" Reject said watching Matt lift himself off the bed and headed towards the door. Reject rolled over onto her side and closed her eyes and soon she drifted off to sleep.

A few hours later the door to the room opened again and Near Stepped in. Reject sleepily rolled over to view the albino sauntering in with a silver tray in hand. Reject sat up curiously as Near walked over to her bed and placed the tray in her lap.

"I assumed you'd be hungry so I brought you some dinner" Near said calmly sitting down on the edge of the bed, then Reject noticed something different.

"Near…what happened to your eye?" She asked pointing at the purplish colored bruise that encircled his left eye.

"…I tripped…" Near answered quietly, as if he seemed ashamed to admit it and Reject tilted her head to one side curiously but then smiled warmly at him.

"It's ok I trip all the time, it's to feel bad about" Reject said lightly and Near just shrugged in return. Reject lifted the cover off the tray and found a medium rare strip sirloin with all the trimmings.

Reject's mouth watered at the sight and she found herself looking up at Near as if to ask if there had been a mistake.

"Relax Reject…I personally put in a request to the chef and had this specially made for you" Near said plainly. His face was emotionless but his eyes shone something different, almost as if he was proud of himself.

"Wow…I…I don't know what to say…"

"You don't have to say anything…Now eat up before it gets cold"

Reject eagerly dug into her meal as Near observed with a sort of child like curiosity. She finished her meal silence and when she was done the tray was taken from her lap and placed on the floor beside the bed.

Reject let out a deep yawn and relaxed herself on the bed and then she felt Near inch closer to her so she cracked an eye open. Near was about a foot away from her face wearing a slight tint of blush on his pale face.

"Whoa! Take it easy!" Reject shouted in shock inching away.

"I'm sorry…I just wanted to ask a favor of you" Near said calmly, resting one of his hands on her shoulder. Reject stared at him for a moment before nodding in confirmation.

"What is it Near?"

"…"

"Well?"

"…May I kiss you…"

000000000

_Near was walking down to the kitchen feeling rather annoyed but still holding it in like he always does. He was manly annoyed with Reject's attitude but he didn't blame her, it was his fault she was in that condition._

_When he arrived in the kitchen he went straight to the pantry and opened it. Just when he was reaching for a jar of peanut butter the door to the kitchen opened and Matt walked in throwing Near a glare._

_"What did you do to her?" Matt asked aggressively still glaring hotly at the albino._

_"What are you talking about?" Near asked sounding confused despite his emotionless face._

_"Stop bullshitting me and tell the truth! What did you do to her you pervert?" Matt yelled grabbing the shirt of the albino and trusting him into a nearby wall._

_"I don't know what your talking about now if you'll excuse me I some work I need to d-"_

_bSLAM!/b_

_Matt landed a quick and smooth punch sending Near clean across the room._

_"Listen you horses-ass 'cause I'm only gonna say this once, if you ever hurt ReRe again… you are gonna wish you were never born" Matt spat venomously walking over and picked up the peanut butter that had been dropped and walked out of the kitchen._

_Near remained silent as he gathered his bearings and got to his feet. He was lucky Matt had left the room for when ran a hand across his left eye he found he had shed a single tear. The tear was not from pain…_

_…But from guilt._


	13. Chapter 13

Behind white walls of dice 13

_ "…If one look's beyond the murder, hate and madness…you'll find just a tortured soul not unlike your own…"_

Reject at the albino trying to digest the words that just came from his mouth, but even though it was in plain English, she couldn't understand a single word he said.

"Wha-what? Huh?"

"May I kiss you"

"B-but why?"

Near paused for a moment giving her a confused look but then suddenly he gave her a surprisingly human smile.

"Because…there has not been a moment where I haven't thought about you…every minute of every hour my thoughts are mangled by just the image of your face, and I can't function…I can't breathe" Near said, gently cupping Reject's cheek before slowly inching his face toward hers.

The distance between them was finally closed when his lips met hers in a gentle union which, in fact, was surprisingly warm despite how cold the albino's lips were in the past. The kiss didn't last very long when Reject calmly pushed Near away in a slightly less then insensitive manner.

"Don't you want this? Don't you want me to please you?" Near asked in a calmly persistent manner but Reject simply stared at him looking dreadfully confused.

"I'm…not sure" She Replied looking away from the albino.

"But I'm sure of what I want…and I think you're sure as well…" Near whispered seductively leaning in to attempt to capture her lips again but Reject turned away. Near's face soon turned from loving to impatience and he pulled away from her and sat up on the edge of the bed.

"…Its Matt isn't it…you love him don't you…" The albino said in a mildly jealous tone looking at Reject with cold emotionless eyes.

"…We're…smitting…but I don't love him" Reject said quietly with a sigh.

"Then what's stopping you from loving me?" Near asked eying her in an interrogating fashion. Reject was silent for a moment but then let out a tired and regretful sigh.

"…It's B…" She admitted lowering her gaze.

"The murderer?"

"Yes…"

"You do realize how stupid you're being right?"

"Yes but I can't help it"

Near sat there staring at Reject bearing a very unamused look before letting out a sigh. He then stood up and pulled Reject's blankets back.

"Near, what are you doing?" Reject asked as the albino carefully lifted her off the bed.

"Your not going to listen to me so I must show you the truth" Near said carrying the young girl out of the room bridal style.

"What truth? You haven't told me anything yet"

"I anticipate that if I try to explain it all to you, you are simply going to deny it all so I'm saving time and effort and just showing it to you"

"Oh…well I guess that does make sense"

The albino continued carrying her down the hall until he stopped at a door that led to the basement. Reject remembered Roger telling her not to go down there because Mr. Wammy kept a lot of his untested inventions down there, but that didn't stop Near as he reached out to grasp the doorknob.

"Wait Near, we could get in trouble if we go down there" Reject said quietly but the albino ignored her and stepped through the open door. They went down several flights of stairs that were very dark, so dark that Reject had to fish out her mini flashlight.

At the bottom of the stairs there was a long hallway that had metal walls and doors that lined them, and Reject noticed that it was starting to look less like an orphanage and more like a prison.

The two continued walking until they came to a large metal door at the end of the long hallway that was coincidently marked with B-13. Near reached over to fumble with keypad, jotting down various numerical codes until the big steel door swung forward letting both him and Reject inside.

The first thing that Reject saw upon entering was a large pane of glass that was reinforced with a wire mesh. But beyond the glass wall, strapped down to a standing metal frame, clothed completely in white, a straight jacket and a face partially hidden behind a bite-guard mask was a man, and judging by Reject's widened eyes, she knew exactly who it was.

"B…Beyond…I thought…I thought he was still being held in that prison in California…" Reject uttered softly her eyes still glued to the figure in the glass room.

"Much like with your situation, L would not allow the authorities to contain him in a normal situation for fear that he would reveal too much information so he had him transferred here" Near said stoically carefully lowering Reject to her feet.

"I thought…I would never see him again…" Reject whispered pressing a hand against the glass wall.

"Yes, this wasn't because L was paranoid, even if that was part of the reason…L cares about this house quite a bit as well as the orphans that reside in it…having the world know about Wammy's House would be terrible mistake" Near mused quietly moving closer to the glass to allow Reject a better view of the restrained murderer.

Reject ran hand across the glass wall until she found a door and immediately tried to open it but then Near pulled her away roughly.

"What do you think your doing?"

"Please let me be near him…I want to be close to him…I want to feel him…I want to wake him up and see his beautiful crimson eyes…I _need_ him"

"Are you completely mad?"

"…Maybe?"

"Reject, I'm not trying to be mean, but you're seriously being an idiot"

"Are you jealous that I love a serial killer psychopath more then I love you?"

"No, it's because he doesn't even remember you…L had his memory erased in an attempt to make him less violent but unfortunately that backfired"

Reject stared at the albino in disbelief then looked back at the restrained killer. His dark bangs fell askew over his closed, sunken eyes and made his face look even paler under the florescent lights that shined above him.

"What's going to happen to him" Reject asked staring down at the floor to try to avoid the sight of both Near and Beyond.

"I am not sure…I suppose L will probably keep him restrained until he finds a way to calm his aggression" Near said methodically picking Reject up again.

"We should get back upstairs before some notices we're gone" the albino said carrying Reject back down the metal hallway and up the stairs. Reject continued to stare at Beyond's cell until it was out of view then her eyes sank to the floor once more.

At the top of the stairs Near went to open the, but he reached out to grasp the knob the door instantly swung open and Roger stood in front of them looking very cross.

"Well now, looks like we've got a couple of adventurers on our hands…might I ask what were you doing in the basement after I told you it was a restricted area" Roger asked sternly boring down on the two.

Well uhh-"

"It was me…one of the children started a rumor that there's a monster down there so I went down there to prove them wrong…" the silver headed boy said quickly grabbing Roger's attention.

"Hmmm…very well but how do you explain Miss R accompanying you" Roger said in a skeptical tone.

"Well she heard from the children that I went down into the basement so she came to find me and bring me back up stairs…but in the process hurt her ankle more" Near explained looking up innocently at the old man.

"Really…is this true Miss R?" Roger asked boring his eyes down on Reject which cause her to shutter.

"…Yes it's true…I know you warned us about going in the basement and that's why I went to go find him…I didn't want him to get in trouble" Reject said playing along with Near.

Roger looked at both Reject and Near before letting out a tired sigh turned to walk off.

"Near go take Miss R back to your room…I will have words with you later but right now make sure she is taken care of first" Roger said then went on his way.

"Near why did you do that?" Reject whispered harshly.

"Because you've gone threw enough already and I didn't want to get you in trouble…Seeing as how it was technically my choice to bring you down there in the first place" Near reasoned carrying Reject back to their room.

"Yeah but did you have to lie…I mean what if he finds out"

"Well it wasn't exactly a lie…there is a monster in the basement that only we know about"

At that comment Reject went silent and her eyes drifted down to the floor. She really didn't want to accept the fact B's memories were wiped and that if she ever faced him he would rather tear her limb from limb then look at her.

Her thought train was suddenly interrupted when she felt the sides of her mouth being lifted against her will. Near had taken two fingers and was pulling up the corners of Reject's mouth into a goofy smile.

"Sorry looked a little sad, so figured I should turn that frown upside-down" Near said in such a plain tone the Reject couldn't resist laughing out loud.

Though things weren't perfect right now, it was better then nothing. She made a promise to help Beyond in anyway possible. She knew that somewhere beneath the murder and madness the one who still loved her would emerge.

She would make sure of it…


	14. Chapter 14

Behind white walls of dice 14

_"Move as I move…Sway as I sway…It's really not hard…Just try not to step on anyone's toes…" _

Halloween in Wammy's House was a very important holiday not just for the children but for everyone who knew L, knew it was a day of celebration, because it was L's birthday. Everyone was busy setting up decorations, everyone mainly being Reject who insisted she take the entire job herself.

Even though she was doing all the work she wasn't entirely working alone, and Roger made sure of that.

"So explain to me again…what did you do to make Roger so mad?" Reject asked taping up a ribbon of streamers.

"I put Hal's goldfish in Roger's tea…and he wasn't too pleased about that so he as punishment he made me come and help you"

"Was that really necessary, that poor goldfish"

"Hey it was for a good cause…he gave his life for the sake of science"

"Mello, you and I both know that dropping a live goldfish in scolding hot liquid is not something I'd call science…come on what did Mr Fin-Fin ever do to you?"

"He was born, that's what he did"

"Typical"

She finished taping up the decorations and hopped off the latter. Reject was quite pleased with he self with how the ballroom looked and she went to inspect Mello's side of the room. Not surprising, Mello had done a lousy job at decorating his half but she did give him props for trying.

"So you are going to the annual Halloween Ball right?" Mello asked pulling a fresh roll of tape out of a box.

"Nah, I'm not going" Reject answered plainly while fixing Mello's poorly assembled decorations.

"What's the matter? Couldn't get a date, you know you're more then welcome to go out with either me or Matt"

"Pfft…please Mello, who do you take me for, I mean c'mon dude I wear men's jeans, do I look like I would be remotely interested in something as girly as a ball?" Reject boasted quite loudly stepping back to view her work.

"Well I say it's looking pretty good, now all that's left is the lighting and disco ball but we can get to that later, right now I'm getting a mighty need to munch some peanut butter so why don't we take a bit of a lunch break" Reject announced walking out of the auditorium and out in into the hall.

Just as she turned a corner a paint filled water balloon came flying toward her and Mello just barely missing them. It was Ickarus and Dirge and they were about to throw another until they noticed Reject standing there looking less then amused and they both dropped to their knees in a groveling fashion.

"Oh Reject! We're sorry! We'll clean it up right away! Please don't summon A's ghost to haunt us!" The two boys begged at Reject's feet, and Reject looked a little more pleased.

"Good, I'll go grab my mop then, I'll see you later Mels and we'll work on the lights, ok?"

"Ok, sure, see ya later"

After the mess was cleaned up and the boys sent on their Reject took a moment to take a look at her work in the auditorium again. The black and silver balloons and streamers lined the ceiling brought a momentary smile to her face but it quickly dripped back to a frown.

Admittedly she was lying when she said she would never be interested in a ball, but even if she wanted to go she would have dress or date and she couldn't possibly come as herself, it would improper if she came if her filthy black trench coat.

"Aw well…it probably was gonna be boring anyway"

"…might I ask, what is going to be boring?"

Reject jumped in surprise at the sudden voice that came from behind her and she turned to see the white and hunched over figure of Near behind her.

"Oh nothing…just the ball, but it doesn't matter, I'm not going anyway" Reject said with a slight shrug.

"Oh dear that is most unfortunate…" Near said tilting his head over to one side as he started curl a lock of his white hair between his fingers.

"Ah well…somebody needs to keep the house clean right"

"I was hoping you'd be able to go…" Near said sounding vaguely disappointed. Reject stopped and stared at him before letting out a sigh.

"Believe me Near, nothing would please me more…but unfortunately I don't have a dress and I will not embarrass myself by showing up in these clothes" She said sourly before walking off down the hall leaving Near standing there with a blank look on his face.

Later that night after Reject had finished her work she walked back to her room but not before taking a quick glance at auditorium. The dance itself hadn't started yet but people were already starting to gather around the tables.

Reject let out a depressed sigh. She had never been to a ball before and right now she wanted more then anything to know what one was like. She shook her head to dismiss the thought and went on her way.

When Reject got to her room she was greeted by something large and wrapped in colorful wrapping paper that hung just over her bed. Reject walked over to it cautiously since she wasn't at all use to getting gifts.

She slowly tore off the wrapping to find the Celtic green and black dress she saw from when took her to get new work boots.

"So…it appears you have a gown after all" Near said making Reject jump. He was standing in the doorway behind Reject giving her a smug look.

"It appears that I do…Is this from you?" Reject asked raising an eyebrow at Near.

"No it is not…I have not been in here at all this afternoon" Near answered plainly but honestly. Reject looked at the dress again and found a small note pinned to the chest. She quickly pulled it off and began to read it.

_"He told me you liked it…so I bought it for you…the assembly will begin at exactly 6:00 PM...I expect you to be there…" _

Reject thought for a moment then placed the dress on her bed before sitting down on the edge of the bed and letting out an irritated sigh.

"What's wrong Reject?" Near asked approaching the bed as well and sitting beside her.

"…I still can't go to the ball"

"What do you mean?...you've got the dress and with me you've got a possible date, what else could you be missing"

"…"

"Well"

"…I can't dance…"

"That's it?"

"No really…I can't, last time I tried dancing I almost broke B's toe…" Reject said glumly staring at the floor. Near then got up and stood in front of Reject causing her to look up at him. Near took a hold of her hand and gently pulled her to her feet and placed a hand on her waist.

"Near…what are you doing?"

"Well once again, if I try to explain it to you Reject you are simply going to argue with me so I'm just going to show you" Near said flatly taking Reject's other hand and pulling her closer to him.

Reject was uncomfortable at first but once she got use to the closeness it wasn't that bad. They swayed across the bedroom floor in a smooth, elegant motion until suddenly…

"Ouch!"

"Oh! Sorry, I told you I was bad" Reject said glumly attempting to pull away but Near kept a firm hold on her and continue to swing her around like nothing had happened. 10 minutes and 3 squished toes Reject finally got the hang of it and she danced gracefully with Near in lead.

"Wow…You are an amazing teacher Near" Reject said smiling and flopping down on her bed.

"oh uhh…th-thank you" Near replied shyly looking away but Reject could still see the tint of blush forming on his face and she couldn't resist a slight giggle.

"Well its 5:30, I should probably get ready to go" Reject rose to her feet picking up the dress and heading into the nearby bathroom. Few minutes later she stepped out looking dazzling so dazzling in fact she caught Near staring at her in awe.

"Reject…you look…amazing" Near said with his mouth agape causing Reject to blush.

"Thanks…I should hurry before it starts" Reject was about to walk towards the door when she was suddenly stopped by the albino grasping her wrist.

"Wait Reject before you go I would like you have this" Near said reaching into his pocket and pulling something small and glittering green. It was a beautiful green hair beret in the shape of a butterfly.

"It was my given to me by one of the matrons a while back but I have no use for it" he said blandly while brushing her hair back and clipping it in. It matched Reject's dress perfectly and the way it glittered almost made it appear enchanted.

"Near…Its perfect…Thank you so much" Reject said giving him a quick hug and quickly dashing out of the room. Little did Reject notice…

…That was the first time the Near ever was ever been complimented.

When she arrived at the Auditorium it was quite crowded with teens standing around standing around the many the tables that surrounded currently in active dance floor. Reject took a deep breath before going and sitting down at one of the many tables.

"Well speak of the devil…I thought you said you wouldn't be interested in something as girly as this?" Mello said smugly walking toward Reject's table with Matt in toe. Mello's outfit was so bizarre that it looked like it was stolen from M.C. Hammer's wardrobe.

It was tailcoat completely covered in purple and green sequins with matching dress pants. In any other situation Reject would have burst out in a fit of laughter but once again it just gave another reminder of Beyond and her eyes slowly sunk to the floor.

_"B did by any chance murder a Gay Pride Activist for that outfit?"_

_"Oh shut up! I was in a hurry and his was all I could find!"_

_"B you look like a gay clown just vomited all over you…Honestly where do you buy your clothes?"_

_"Hey! Don't forget, I brought you to the hospital…I saved your life…Reject…Reject._..ReRe?..."

"Hey! Earth to ReRe! Do you copy? Over!"

Reject shook her head and realized she that Matt and Mello where still there and were now talking to her.

"Oh sorry, I was a little distracted by the sudden light-show you were giving me" Reject said giving the boy a goofy grin.

"Hey! I worked hard for these sick threads"

"Meaning he couldn't afford a real tux so he had get one from the second hand store"

"Shut up Matt! And by the way ReRe, nice dress it looks really good on you"

Reject Blushed a bit then saw Matt's suit. His was the complete opposite of Mello, he wore a white tux over a jet black dress shirt and it made him look incredibly distinguished as well as attractive.

"Like what you see?" Matt boasted giving Reject a wink.

"Oh shut Matt!" Reject said mimicking after Mello who stood back and laughed. Then suddenly the room became dark and the podium on the stage was lit up and the great L walked out on to the stage.

Save for a loosely tied tie around his neck L outfit was much under-dressed, but everyone seemed to have accepted this and clapped eagerly as he slowly approached the podium. L removed the lollipop from his mouth and quite loudly cleared his throat before taking up the mic between his thumb and forefingers.

"Orphans of Wammy's House, tonight is a night of calibration not just for my birthday but also for the house it self, for every year this house has stood and for every orphan that has resided in it that have worked to strive for Justice, truth, honor, knowledge and peace, everything that L stands for, seeing you all here tonight for this brings warmth to my heart, so without further eddue let the annual Halloween Ball begin"

There was an enormous applaud from the crowd as L stepped down from the podium just the music started playing. I got quite loud but Reject just sat there as the rest of the teens started tearing up the dance floor.

"Not much interest in the rambunctious crowed are you?" A calm voice sounded beside her. Reject quickly looked over to see L squatting on the chair beside her still nibbling intently on his lollipop.

"You shouldn't be talking to me, it looks like your showing too much favoritism" Reject cautioned giving L a worried look.

"You should learn to realize that I am L and I can talk to whomever I want" L said throwing her a slight smile. Then suddenly music changed to a softer yet more somber tune and L raised a hand towards Reject.

"Fancy a dance?" L said giving Reject an expecting look making it so she could not refuse. She shyly gasped his hand and stood up from her seat. As soon as she did however L swiftly pulled her toward the dance floor.

Reject felt L's hand at her waist and her other hand hoisted up and outward. When Reject finally looked L in the face and was shocked to find how similar he look Beyond except for L's expression was more calm and collected as opposed to Beyond's which was aggressive and irritable.

Reject followed along with L mimicking his motions, despite L being a social recluse he was a very graceful dancer.

_Playground school bell rings again_  
_Rain clouds come to play again_  
_Has no one told you she's not breathing?_  
_Hello, I'm your mind giving you someone to talk to_  
_Hello_

As they continued dancing the room suddenly got quieter and soon Reject felt eyes on her as the other dancers watched in awe at the spectacle before them.

_If I smile and don't believe_  
_Soon I know I'll wake from this dream_  
_Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken_  
_Hello, I'm the lie living for you so you can hide_  
_Don't cry_

They continued to sway across the floor as the other orphans continued to watch and Reject through the entire time just continued to stare deep into L's obsidian eyes like they were windows into his very soul.

_Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping_  
_Hello, I'm still here_  
_All that's left of yesterday…_

The finished and Reject took a gracious bow and was quite surprised when L leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her hand and the rest was followed by a small applaud by the crowd.

Tonight would be a night the Reject would never forget and she not only had L to thank for tonight…

…But she had Near to thank as well…


	15. Chapter 15

Behind white walls of dice 15

_ "…What am I to you…Just another pawn to manipulate…Just another toy for your amusement…" _

Reject was quickly running down the hallways of Wammy's House, the tails of her trench coat whipping and waving behind her as she swiftly made her way down the hall. It was her very first day of classes and already she was late so she continued running until she arrived at the classroom.

The professor had already started the lecture and so she carefully and quietly tipped toed to the back of the class where Mello was sitting and sat down next to him.

"Finally managed to pry your self from your pillow eh?" Mello snickered quietly while taking notes on the lecture.

"Mello you have no idea, I couldn't get to sleep last night I was so anxious" Reject said quickly pulling out her textbook and flipping to the correct page and trying to follow along with the rest of the class.

After class Reject followed Mello and met up with Matt in the cafeteria for lunch. Lunch was very uneventful except for a bit of small talk. After lunch was done she went to her next class which conveniently was shared with Matt.

From that point on this would be a daily routine for Reject, go to class with Mello then lunch then class with Matt and then go to her usual job of cleaning up the rest of Wammy's House.

After a while Reject began to notice a normal trend, for example when ever there was an exam, the day before the exam Mello would get into a philosophical argument with the teacher that would result in him getting sent to the detention room for the rest of the class.

He wasn't actually trying to get attention, that was just his way of getting ready for the test, but it did make sense. It would give him no choice but to study for the upcoming exam.

A few of his teachers caught on to this unusual method of study and simply played along. One time the professor actually pulled out a bag of chips while he was listening to one of the blonde's many rants and nearly made Reject laugh during class.

After the day was over she would head back to her room she shared with Near. More often then not he wouldn't be due to the fact that he was a protégé with higher expectations then a normal student and had to take more extra curricular activities.

Near was usually very far from Reject's mind unless she really needed help with one of her subjects, with which Near would voluntarily tutor her in all of the subject matter, but other then that she studied on her own.

She developed a rather strange perk in the regard that she really enjoyed doing homework. Of all of the things she loved to do she loved homework, she wanted to be better, better then everyone else, but she also love to learn.

So here Reject sat, bored and tired, she already finished her homework that had been given so there really wasn't anything else she could do so she sat there listening to her CD player. Then the door to the room opened and Near stepped in and abruptly grabbed Reject's shoulder and turned her around.

"What is it Near? Is something the wrong? You look a little-Eeep!" Before Reject could finish Near's lips suddenly latched on to hers, nipping forcefully and trying to swallow hers whole.

"Near! What's the matter with you!" Reject shouted pushing the albino away from her trying to shrink away.

"I wish to have sex with you" Near said bluntly grabbing hold of her and attaching his shamelessly wet lips to her neck. Reject pushed him away again but he held on to her. He managed to maneuver her over to the bed and quickly pinned her down.

"Near don't! This isn't necessary!" Reject yelled trying to get him off of her but it did little to stop the silver headed boy as he began to tear off her clothing one piece at a time.

"Near Stop! Please! I DON'T WANT THIS!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. Then quite suddenly the door to the room burst open and Roger stomped in looking annoyed.

"What is the meaning of this?" The old man shouted before noticing a partially clothed Reject being pinned down by a stoic yet wide-eyed Near.

"Well now, look's like someone's been giving in to they're hormones, you two have a lot of explaining to do" Roger demanded crossing his arms in an authoritive manner.

"Isn't it obvious Roger! I'm being r-"

"A temptress…" Near interrupted the girl underneath him and threw a glance over at the old man who pinched the bridge of his nose out of frustration.

"Excuse me?"

"A temptress…she was seducing me Roger" Near replied climbing off of Reject and walking toward Roger.

"Hmmm…is this true miss R?"

"NO! He's lying! He raped me!" Reject shouted sitting up glaring at the albino.

"And do you have any proof of this wrong doing?"

"Well…no, not exactly" Reject said looking down at the floor. Thing were not looking good and they were getting worse by the second, she knew Roger trusted Near more then he trusted her.

"Well that is most unfortunate R, I very disappointed in your behavior, now you shall take responsibility for it"

"But I didn't do anything!"

"R, I'm a fairly old man and I've acquired a good amount of experienced in young adult behavior, so I'm not going to fall for the _'it wasn't me'_ routine"

"I shall be the judge of that Mr. Ruvie" a voice suddenly replied and everyone in the room turned to see the hunched over figure of L standing in the doorway with an unamused look on his normally stoic face.

"L, I notice you were here" Roger said looking rather flustered.

"Indeed, and I must admit I'm displeased by your quick assumption" The detective replied quietly looking about the room.

"And what you say sir?"

"The fact that you didn't allow the girl to defend her statement properly and simply jumped to conclusions"

"Listen L, Near would never do such an act, he is too young and could not possess the knowledge to do so, and-"

"Roger"

"Yes L?"

L stepped forward and stood right in front of the old man then quite suddenly he did something that no would ever expect. He slowly began shifting his shoulders back and his spine popped and cracked as it straightened out and when he finished he was roughly 3 and a half inches taller and he towered over Roger in a menacing fashion.

"Roger, I am very disappointed that you would underestimate the abilities and comprehension of my heirs, but though you are correct and R should have acted more mature in this situation considering she is older, this is my protégé and I shall take the situation into my own hands"

Roger was clearly at a loss for word and L took that as his queue to shrink back down to his normal height and walked toward Reject. Reject was still trying to digest what just happened she didn't notice him right away until he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"R…you'll need to come with me" the detective said and Reject nodded standing up and following L put of the room. On her way out she spared a quick glance at Near, his expression was unreadable and found herself looking away. Reject was unsure of what to expect, but still she continued to follow.

She could only hope that it wasn't a worse punishment then what she had faced before…


	16. Chapter 16

Behind white walls of dice 16

_"…You may look, act, smell, touch and taste like him…but I know that you are not him…"_

_Reject floated through darkness surrounded by warmth and comfort. A purple-ish, psychedelic haze swept around her and flowers suddenly sprung up from the ground. At closer glance they appeared to be roses, blue roses, but then she looked up again to see a tall figure standing on a hill._

_Reject glided up the blue rose covered hill toward the dark figure. When she was close enough she was shocked to find that the figure standing there was none other then Beyond._

_"B-Beyond? What are you doing out here?" Reject asked looking at him curiously. Now that she thought about at, what was she doing out here? Or better yet where was here to begin with._

_"I don't remember, I just went for a little walk and then I wound up here…" He replied quietly looking at the surrounding area with a bit of a puzzled look on his face._

_"Well I'm glad you're here, I missed you" Reject said smiling widely at him._

_"Indeed…Excuse me for my bluntness, but…"Beyond started before boring his eyes into the girl in front of him._

_"…Do I know you?"_

_Reject immediately froze unable to answer, then quite suddenly the wind picked up and an ocean of blue rose peddles encircled her and then swallowed her into darkness again. A normal person would have panicked, but Reject was in such a state of sadness she didn't care._

_But after a while she felt better, the darkness was warm and welcoming, and the sweet smell of blue roses filled the air around her, relaxing her. She couldn't even remember what she was so upset about, but then sooner or later there was no indication that she had been upset at all._

_The weightlessness she was experiencing topped with the soothing warmth and tickling rose peddles across her face was simply indescribable. But then after a few moments she suddenly heard a voice whisper in the darkness. _

"R…R…R"

_She felt the voice pulling her out of the warm darkness and into the cold light so she resisted pushing away and crawling back in._

"R…wake up"

_The voice was more persistent but still Reject fought against in clinging desperately to the comfort the darkness, she didn't want to leave yet, it was nicer here, she felt happy here. _

"R I'm going to give you to the count of 3, if you are not awake by then you will be very unhappy"

_"I'm not getting up…"_

"…1"

_"...not getting up"_

"…2"

_"…still not getting up"_

"…3"

Quite suddenly there came an icy feeling of a cold foot against Reject's back caused her body to spasm uncontrollably before finally making her fall off the edge of the bed and on to the floor.

"Good your awake, I was about to send Watari to fetch a bucket of ice" L said blankly leaning over the edge of the bed.

"L…was that really necessary?"

"Yes it is R, I have to get to work and you have to get to class, so it only makes sense to kick you out of bed first thing in the morning" L noted thoughtfully offering a hand to Reject who still lay on the floor.

"L…not only is it 5:30 in the morning, which is 2 hours earlier then I would usually get up, but its also a Saturday, meaning I have no classes today" Reject said in a grumpy tone. L looked at her puzzled for a moment then looked at the small calendar on his side table.

"Hmmm…it appears you are correct, I apologize for rudely awakening you at such an ungodly hour…go back to sleep" L said dismissively rolling back over to his of the bed. Reject managed to pull her self back on to the bed and just when she started to get comfortable L pulled out his laptop and got to work.

And so there Reject lay, wide awake but too tired to get up, sitting next to the world's greatest detective. This was the third day she had stayed and it usually was the same routine. L would wake up ridiculously early then try to wake up Reject, which usually involved him pressing his cold feet against her back.

As irritating as it was, she didn't mind as much, considering how she usually was late for her morning class and this remedied that problem, but what she did mind was that she had to share a bed with L.

Sleeping in L's bed was very difficult not because L kept her awake, L was actually a very sound sleeper if undisturbed, no, it was trying to keep her distance while she was sleeping herself.

She knew very well that L and B were not the same, but at night that was an entirely different story. L looked very much like B when he slept and Reject had to stop herself countless times, she'd even woken up in the middle of the night to find that she'd cuddled up next to him and she'd have to shuffle away carefully without waking him up.

At least on the up side she got breakfast in bed courtesy of . She really did have a lot of respect for the old man as he did provide her with a good assortment of things.

Other then those minor changes, things pretty much the same, except for one small thing, Near had disappeared. At least to Reject it looked like he did since she didn't see him in his usual spots.

In the afternoons Reject would stay in L's room and work on her homework while L sat in front his laptop working on high profile cases. There was one particular evening where Reject was finishing up her homework the detective had laid eyes on her, he inched closer silently observing her and it wasn't until he was about a foot away Reject noticed him.

"Gah! Please don't do that L!" Reject gasped nearly falling over in her chair. L paused for a moment before placing his thumb between his lips and nibbling methodically.

"I apologize…I wondering if I could ask a few questions about the L.A.B.B. murder cases, if that is alright with you" L asked and plucking up a stick of pocky from a candy bowl next to Reject. Reject was a little shocked about how abrupt L was being but she couldn't refuse him with the way things were going with her reputation.

"What would you like to know?"

"Relax R, this off the record, I'm simply curious about a few things, and also I would like to know more about you" L said kindly offering her a stick of pocky. Reject stared at him cautiously for a moment before sighing.

She told him many things, about how after Roger threw her out of the orphanage, about how she struggled to survive, about how she managed to stow-away on a trade ship and got over to the U.S., how she'd nearly been killed on countless occasions and had to hide to stay alive, but most importantly, how, by chance, she found Beyond.

_Lost on the cold streets of L.A., starving, exhausted and terrified she continued to wonder aimlessly down the darkened road. She kept walking with no reason as to why, but some unseen force pulled her against her will and compelled her to continue despite her exhaustion._

_Dirt that gathered in the soles of her beaten leather boots had ground against her feet so much that the skin was raw but despite the excruciating pain she was not hindered in the slightest by it and so kept on moving, but soon enough her path way was blocked by tree dark and unfriendly figures._

_Feeling a little distressed by this she turned to walk the other way only to find one more dark and foreboding figure walking doing the alleyway toward her. At this point she was beginning to panic, seeing no means of escape from the 2 way alley with the tree individuals at one end and the single individual walking down the other end, then the unthinkable happened._

_"Hey baby, what're you doing out so late at night" one of the tree men at the other end of the alley spotted her which in turn gained her the attention of his other two companions. Reject inched back a bit but then remembered the one walking down the other end of the alleyway and she turned to see how far he was._

_That turned out to be a mistake when one of the tree men grabbed her shoulder and spun her around to face them. She was terrified, she made an attempt to pull away but it only made matters worse when one of the men latched an arm around her._

_"C'mon honey don't be like that" One of the men said restraining her tightly. Reject struggle furiously but only caused the other two men to grab hold of her, then she saw the darkened individual that had come down the other end of the alleyway._

_He had stopped moving and simply stood there with his head tilted to one side as if he was mildly amused by what he was seeing. Pretty soon Reject was forced up against a wall with her arms held tightly behind he back, and the darkened figure took a step forward which gained the attention of her captors._

_"Hey man, layoff, you can have her when we're done!" one of the three men shouted. This comment must have severely irritated him because at that moment the darkened figure grabbed hold of the one of the men and held him up by the throat._

_Reject was released abruptly and fell to the ground. She saw the darken man very tall and quite lanky, but he wore a dark hoody so it made it impossible to see his face. She looked at the young man that dangled helplessly in the hooded figure's grip._

_"I don't like your tone of voice, perhaps I should do everyone a favor and cut out your throat…does that sound like a good idea?" the menacing figure asked to which the man he was holding quickly shook his head in response._

_"Smart answer, now get out of here before I gut you like the dogs you are" The hooded figure threatened before turning to Reject who still sat there on the ground, unsure of weather to be amazed or terrified._

_"You…"_

_She here heard him speak and looked up to see a fiery red gaze boring into her and she tried to shrink away, but for some reason she felt drawn to him so she made no attempt to run. The man stared at her for a few more seconds before turning away._

_"…Follow" He said sharply beckoning her with a single finger. Seemingly against her will she rose to her feet and followed after him. No matter how hard she tried she could not stop herself, she continued walking yet again being pulled like a magnet toward this unknown individual._

_They both continued on with the hooded man leading the way and Reject following close behind him until they reached a dingy apartment complex that resided in probably the most run down of all neighborhoods and it was then the man grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her up the stairs._

_Reject found herself pushed rather roughly into the apartment. To put it bluntly, the place was a complete shithole but she was unable to take in anything else she Reject was quite suddenly turned around to face a man whom she thought she would never see again._

_"B…" _

By this point L was so enthralled by Reject's story he practically leaning over her lap to which she responded by falling off the chair again.

"Dammit L! Stop doing that!" Reject shouted picking her self up again while L let out a slight chuckle. Reject was now tired decided now was a good time to rest on the bed, so she wondered over to it and flopped herself down on it.

L soon followed suite in a more exotic manner by hopping off his chair, bouncing along the ground by his heels and hooping up on the bed, all this while keeping his knees bent.

"Hmmm I find your story fascinating…Might I ask, what did he do after rescuing you?" L asked, his thumb probing his lips thoughtfully.

"He…didn't really do anything, well not anything bad, he just yelled at me for about 30 minutes, demanded what I was doing in L.A. and why I left Wammy's house and how the hell I got there, but that's all, he really didn't do anything" Reject answered honestly.

"Hmmm… interesting" L said, still nibbling on his thumb in a methodical manner. Reject closed her eye and hummed to herself tiredly.

"So…why are you asking all these questions about B anyway?"

"No real reason, I'm just curious about your feelings towards him"

"L…what would give you the indication that I had feelings for him?"

"Why do you utter his name in your sleep?"

Reject's face soon matched her hat, and soon she buried her head in the blankets.

"…L…why didn't you tell me that I talk in my sleep?"

"You didn't know?"

"NO! Or else I wouldn't be this embarrassed"

"What is there to be embarrassed about? Vocalization during REM sleep is quite common, and also it gave me a glimpse into some of your more personal desires"

"PERSONAL DESIRES! What did you hear!"

"Oh just a few things, like how B would pour strawberry jam on you and like it off of your-"

**_Boof!_**

At that exact moment Reject swiftly grabbed the pillow and chucked it at L. It bounced off his head landing beside him and he looked over wearing a playful grin.

"Now I believe…You have instigated duel" L said before picking up the pillow and lunging toward Reject like a playful monkey and attacking her with the cushioned blunt object.

The pillow fight soon evolved into a tickling match, which soon ended on a stalemate do to the fact that both got too tired to keep going. Reject tiredly rested her head on L's stomach and L, of course, took the opportunity to start playing with her hair.

"So…do you still love B?"

"…yeah…and I always will"

"But you do realize that you could never see him again"

"…I know…but honestly I don't care"

"…What if you could see him again…what would you do?"

"I don't know…probably give him a great big hug… and then listen to him rant to me about his crazy plans"

Reject rolled over off of L and on to her side of the bed letting out an exhausted sigh as she did. She felt L getting close to her and soon she felt a warm hand against her forehead.

"R…Are you still awake?"

"Mmmm Hmmm"

"May I ask you one more question?"

"Hmmm ok"

"How would you like to see him tomorrow?"

"…"

"R?"

There was no answer. Reject had already fallen asleep and was not planning on waking up anytime soon, but that didn't mean she didn't hear L's question.

_ "Tomorrow?...yeah…that would be…"_

_"…Great"_


	17. Chapter 17

Behind white walls of dice 17

_"To copy the original is bad…but to be the original and copy the copy of the original is just plain stupid"_

Her sleep was dreamless as she stirred beneath the bed covers. Though she was somewhat awake and somewhat conscious she could not pry herself from the comforting confines of the bed. Then a rustle next to her signaled L's awakening, and soon she heard the shuffling of bear feet on the hardwood floor and toward to window.

I blinding light suddenly flooded the room forcing Reject to roll over and press her face against the quilt.

"L…please…I've told you countless times…I don't wake up early over the weekends" Reject grunted covering her head with one of the pillows trying to block out the light. An uncharacteristic giggle from L was heard and soon Reject felt the edge of the blanks being tugged off.

"Dammit L! Let me sleep!" still no reply, only more strange giggling. At this point Reject gathered that there was something strange going on, even though L was known for being annoying he would never go as far as to intentionally get on her nerves.

Then as if the situation couldn't aggravate Reject anymore, L sat down at the end of the bed and began to tickle her feet. So Reject sat up angrily ready to toss her pillow at the laughing detective, but when she got a good look at him her jaw nearly hit the floor.

Despite the strikingly similar features, it was clear from the eccentric expression and crimson hued eyes that this was anything but L. Reject sat up cautiously eying her intruder silently, still in utter disbelief at what she was seeing.

"B…B-Beyond…" she muttered softly eyes wide, and B acknowledged her with a simple nod.

"Aww damn, I thought my disguise actually fooled this time Reject" The dark haired man said, a smug grin spreading across his pale face. She was in utter disbelief at what she was, so much disbelief that she doubted it was even real.

"B…Could I trouble you for a favor?"

"Well Perhaps, it depends on what"

"…Pinch me"

"What?"

"Yes"

"…Why?"

"…On second thought …slap me"

"Slap you? Are you sure?"

"…yes"

"Alright then"

In one swift and precise movement Beyond's hand cut quickly through the air striking Reject in the cheek and sending her flying backward on to the bed. She quickly sat back up feeling dazed but at least not confused and cupped both of Beyond's pale cheeks so that she could feel that they were as real as her own.

"Beyond! Y-you're alive! You're awake! And you remember me!" Reject shouted still grabbing at the dark haired man's face in disbelief.

"Yes I remember you…somewhat" Beyond said looking about the room, a weary look gracing across his face.

"Somewhat...what do you mean?" Reject asked sounding a little puzzled as she pulled her hands away.

"I…have almost completely forgotten everything else" B admitted, a look of sadness gracing across his face. Reject's hand suddenly cupped itself over her mouth and then she found herself trying to fight back the tears that welled in her eyes.

"Y-you…forgot…everything?" She asked sniffling and trying to keep herself from breaking down, but then she felt a sudden warmth come around her and she looked up to find Beyond wrapping both of his arms around her, embracing her in her moment of need.

"Not everything…I remember you" He spoke softly while gently wiping the tears from her eyes. He then leaned in closer and gently brushed his lips against hers before capturing them in a breath taking kiss.

He tasted as sweet as she remembered him but the kiss did not last long as a sharp knock came at the door. B quickly broke away turning Reject in his arms and cupping a hand over her mouth and calmly shushing her with glare.

"Who is it?" Beyond said sweetly trying to imitate L as much as he could.

"It's me Sir, and I do apologize for interrupting your work, but I have a letter here for R from one of the orphans" The Old man said through the door.

"Well sorry Watari she's in the shower currently, could you please slip it under the door and I'll make sure she receives it" B replied still cupping his hand tightly over her mouth.

"Are you feeling alright sir? Your voice sounds a little raspy"

"Uhh…Y-yes, I think I may be coming down with the seasonal cough…" Beyond answered quickly with a slight stutter.

"Oh I see, would you like me to bring you some cough medicine with your tea?"

"N-no, no I think I fine, but I think I'm going to have a little nap for now, please do not disturb me during that time"

"Very well sir, I shall leave you for now, please do make sure R receives this letter" the old man finished pushing an envelope under the door before walking off down the hall.

Beyond removed his hand from Reject's mouth and let out a relieved sigh. Reject stepped over to the door and picked up the letter, but before she could read it Beyond snatched it out from her hand.

"You'll have plenty of time to read it later, right now we've got to get out of here" Beyond said quickly grabbing Reject and pulling her across the room.

"B where are we going?" but there was no answer as Reject roughly dragged to the corner of the room B then opened what appeared to be a secret doorway, so which she was then quickly pushed into.

"Wow, of all the years I spent memorizing this house, I never knew there was a secret door in this room" Reject gawked stepping inside.

"Well there are a lot of things you don't know about this place, but you will learn them soon enough"

The secret passageway was dark, cold and cramped but Reject still made her way down with Beyond leading the way, his hand still firmly gripping her wrist. Finally after a few minutes of walking there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and they both ran for it.

It was a large locked metal gate, and B dug into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a small silver key. Once the gate was unlocked B immediately grabbed Reject's arm again and dragged her out of the tunnel.

Reject looked to find that the secret passage had taken them to the courtyard, but she didn't have time to see where in the courtyard they emerged as she was quickly pulled toward where the parking garage was.

There Beyond pulled out another key from his pocket and opened the side door into the garage, and Reject was beginning to wonder where exactly he had gotten all these keys from, but was unable to ask when she was suddenly stuffed into the back seat of a random vehicle.

"B, what's going on? Where are you taking me?" Reject asked as B climbed into the driver's seat and quickly pulled out of the garage and out of the driveway.

"Someplace where I can speak with you privately so we can figure out another plan" Beyond replied turning on to a large expansion of dirt road.

"Wait! I can't leave, I'm under house arrest, I'll get into trouble if I leave unsupervised!"

"I know that Reject, I planned it that way" Beyond quickly answered showing a devious a smirk.

"Wait, you planned for me to be captured and taken back to Wammy's House and put under house arrest?"

"Yes Reject, I left Naomi a note during the interrogation giving her directions to my hideout saying that there would be more interesting information there that L would be interested in, and I also deduced that L would send Watari to retrieve after you were apprehended, seeing as how he wishes to keep Wammy's House a secret from society, need I go on?"

Reject, unable to argue with the dark haired criminal simply crossed her arms in protest and pouted for the remainder of the drive. They pulled into the parking lot of a small and remote coffee pub and finally stopped.

"Ok let's go" Beyond said but Reject wouldn't move, she just continued to sit there with her arms crossed wearing a grumpy look.

"Oh c'mon Reject, you can't still be mad about me putting you on probation, if I hadn't do what I did then would have either starved to death or been put in jail, and did not want to see that happen"

"I am, but I'm also pissed about how stupid your being at this very moment and time" Reject replied angrily.

"And what, might I ask, am I doing that you consider stupid?" B asked venomously at Reject who still gave him the grumpy look of impatience.

"Because you're dressed like L and we're about 10 miles away from Wammy's House and if someone recognizes you, and informs the real L we're here we'll both be in hot water" Reject explained sitting back and staring at the killer who simply shrugged and reached under the passenger seat.

"you seem to forget, I always come prepare" and with that said he pulled out a medium sized, brown suitcase that contained two separate outfits which, strangely enough, seemed to fit both of them perfectly. Both Reject and Beyond slipped into they're new outfits before finally stepping out of the car and into the coffee pub.

They found a quiet table in the back away from the other patrons of the pub and sat down. Beyond had chosen a black long-sleeved shirt similar to his white one, and Reject picked a white long-sleeved button-up shirt with a black vest over top that she had taken quite a liking to.

"Ok…Let's get down to business"

"To defeat…the Huns"

"Beyond, this isn't the time to be making Disney reference"

"Sorry I couldn't resist"

So there Reject sat for the remainder of the afternoon, she filled Beyond in on everything that had happened to them during the time of the BB murder cases as that was all he really forgot, in fact he forgot a lot of things.

Even things that should have been second nature to the killer he had miraculously forgotten made Reject start to wonder, but she soon shrugged it off and simply smiled but still it was very strange.

"Is something the matter?"

"Hmmm?"

"You've been staring at me for past 5 minutes, are you feeling alright?"

"Oh it's nothing…I was just thinking"

"About what?"

"Oh nothing much…I was just wondering how you broke out"

Beyond paused for a moment placing his thumb between his lips and began to pander Reject's question.

"It was quite difficult, but I'm not going to say how…instead I would you to guess how I managed to escape" Beyond replied smirking deviously taking a sip from his coffee.

"Well I wouldn't know, I'm not as smart as the world's greatest criminal master mind"

"Now, now Reject, don't be modest, you are incredibly intelligent, if you weren't I wouldn't have let you work along side me during the BB murder cases"

"…Well, I know you were in the basement of Wammy's House and you were being strapped against a large metal rack in the middle of this glass and wire mesh room with a 6 inch metal plate door with a key pad on the outside, my guess is tha-"

"Stop" Beyond interrupted pressing a finger against the young girl's lips, effectively silencing her. Reject felt irritated at first but then she saw that the pub had gotten a lot more crowded.

"…Sorry"

"That's alright Reject…But I think we should probably get going" Beyond said quietly rising from his seat and making his way to the door. Reject tailed after him discreetly as she made her way out of the pub and toward the car.

"So what's next on the agenda?" Reject asked as she buckled herself in.

"Well I have to take you back, it's already 2 o'clock and they'll be wondering where you are" B replied while getting into the drivers seat to change back into his normal attire. Reject did the same but she hung onto the black sweater-vest thinking it would make a nice addition to her tiny wardrobe, and Beyond didn't seem to mind.

The drive home was a quiet one, both were too tired to talk and there wasn't much to talk about anyway. When Beyond arrived back at Wammy's he quickly drove into the parking garage then turn to Reject.

"Go on in Reject, I'll meet you in L's room later after your shift is done...I'll be waiting with a surprise"

"…Ok!" Reject hopped out of the car and quickly went back inside. She swiftly snuck back to her closet, grabbed her broom and then casually went to work. Once again Beyond had surprised her again by knowing that she needed to work, she was starting to get suspicious with her behavior.

She later simply shrugged it off as one of B's crazy quarks brought about by the memory wiping process. She was very glad that no one had noticed she was gone aside from Roger making a point that she was 3 minutes late on cleaning the café, but other then that no one had been any wiser on her whereabouts.

After she was finished she traveled back up to L's room, being careful to make sure no one was following her as she made her way to the large oak doors. She knocked once and waited patiently for the door to be unlocked.

When she stepped in the room was completely dark and then suddenly the door behind her slammed shut and out of the darkness something grabbed her. Reject struggled a little but soon stopped when she felt lips crashing into hers.

She then felt herself being picked up and carried someplace in the darkness and soon she felt the soft bed come underneath her and the feeling of someone mounting her, and then…

_Click_

Light suddenly filled the room, and there Beyond sat over top of Reject wearing a teasing grin.

"You're late"

"I'm not late…you're early"

B chuckled evilly before leaning down to capture the young girl's lips again, his hands gliding about her body, feeling every soft curve and every quiet moan.

What was about to take place was already blaringly obvious to Reject, and as it went on things became more and more intimate, and soon clothes were a thing of the past as they're bodies touched and caressed.

Hands explored each others body while lips locked together, trying desperately to swallow the other's whole. Beyond's back arched up away from Reject, who lied underneath him panting looking up curiously.

Their feverish gazes were locked, and Beyond's member extended freely, hovering just ever so slightly over the green haired girl's quivering folds. The dark haired male above Reject reached down and gently ran a finger down her cheek in an affectionate manner, bringing his head down so his lips were pressing against her ear.

"Are you ready love?" He asked softly nuzzling the side of her face gently. Reject didn't bother with words, she simply nodded and Beyond sat back, grasping his throbbing erecting then slowly pushed inside her.

The sex was less then rough, so less in fact it wasn't rough at all. It was so soft, slow and gentle, maybe a little too gentle then Reject would have liked, but still she thought nothing of it when both managed to reach climax.

Beyond laid slumbering beside Reject, thumb calmly nestled between his lips in an adorable fashion. She had to admit she really didn't miss watching sleep like that, he was just so adorable, like a cute little baby raccoon all curled up in a ball.

Reject laid back down, she wasn't tired, there was too much on her mind she couldn't focus on sleeping. There were some many questions that left Reject pondering about today. Beyond's behavior seemed very out of character even if his memory was erased, there are things the killer should have been able to point out.

Which also brought her to another question, how is it that Beyond Birthday didn't remember the most crucial skills of his trade, yet he some how knew things that only L and perhaps Watari are supposed to know. She was beginning to question weather or not this man lying next to her really was B.

"Hmmmm…are you still awake Reject?" The man murmured quietly looking up at her. Reject was about to answer but then she noticed something off with him but soon she finally realized what was going on and an agitated scowl soon came across her face.

"Reject? What's the matter?" He asked curiously but she didn't answer as she continued to stare at the man before her, a look of clear rage splayed across her face.

"Cut the crap L…I'm not stupid" She said reaching down to pull off the red contact lens that had fallen out and was sticking to his cheek. B, now revealed as L, was completely stunned, so much as such he remained silent as Reject continued to stare him down.

Though was known as being a genius, it painfully clear…

…he made an incredibly stupid mistake…


	18. Chapter 18

Behind white walls of dice 18

_"Hope is an illusion…"_

She was furious, more then furious she was angry beyond belief and looking at the man before her a feeling of nausea came over her when the actual realization set, and it was not that she cheated on Beyond…

…She had sex with L…

"R please let me explain, this wasn't meant to hurt you I-"

Before L could finish Reject sat up, threw her cloths back on and headed straight for the door. L got up and chased after her still trying to apologize and explain, but unfortunately it fell on deaf ears as Reject went to open the door and found it locked.

"R, Reject please don't be angry with me, I just needed to know a few things-oof!"

Reject interrupted L again by pushing him forcefully out of the way then she headed straight to the closet. Stepping inside she closed the door leaving L standing outside.

"Reject, I'm sorry, that wasn't intended to hurt you, I just needed to know what he was to you"

Only silence came from the closet, she didn't want to deal with anymore nonsense so her thought was the closet would be the best place to hide away from it all, and it seemed to be working quite well as she pressed her feet against the door to keep the detective from entering.

Finally L stopped and crouched down beside the door. His methods were not working as he had hoped and he needed find another way of smoothing out the situation. He leaned up against the wall, placed his thumb between his lips and took a deep breath.

"R…Reject…the truth is, I wanted to know what it was like…all my life I've been stuck in a closed space with nothing less then a window to the outside world…that was the first time I have ever out side the house without Watari…I would never do something like that by myself, because I'm too afraid of the world…I am a cowered Reject...but you…"

L paused for a moment as if he was trying to put together the right words to say.

"You are so different from the people I see everyday…you don't care what people think of you…you sound obedient but deep down you are your own fire…and despite all you have been through with all the manipulation, pain and suffering you've bared…you don't hold a grudge…I like you a lot…you make me feel strong…I wanted to be closer to you…"

A sudden click had come the closet door and then slowly opened revealing a damp eyed Reject crawling calmly out from between the garments and sitting beside L.

"You know…Naomi told me you use a different name during the BB murder cases…mind me asking what it was"

"…Rikya…"

"Hmmm…interesting did Beyond give you that name?"

Reject nodded quietly in response.

"Did he ever tell you why he named you that or what it means?"

Reject quietly shook her head in response again.

"It means …to be strong…I think he really did care about you…and you know what else…"

L rested his hand on the girl's shoulder in a comforting manner, giving an almost loving look.

"…I really care about you too" L calmly before leaning forward and gently pressing his lips against her forehead. Suddenly there was a knock at the door and L got to his feet and went over to answer it.

"Sorry to trouble you sir, but I heard shouting, is everything all right in there sir?" Watari asked sounding a bit troubled.

"Everything is fine but thank you for your concern Watari" L responded calmly with a hint of embarrassment.

"Alright sir, but there's also a call for you from the ministry of defense, it sounds rather urgent"

"Very well I shall go take the call, thank you Watari" L finished closing the door and walking back over to Reject who was now sitting on the bed with an irritated look contorting her face.

"Are you still upset Reject?"

"Yes…but not at you…I'm upset about the situation…why is it everyone in this house wants to get in my pants? I mean seriously, first Near goes rape-face on me then Matt starts flirting with me and now you go and play serial killer for a couple hours and end up 'bumping ugly's' with me, and the sad part is I'm really not that attractive…so, what gives?"

L stared at her for a moment before, quite suddenly bursting out laughing. Reject was so shocked by this behavior that she didn't quite know how to respond, but then the detective came to sit down next to her.

"Oh you silly, silly girl…the child protégées of Wammy's House are not as shallow minded as you think…we focus on the mind more then mere appearances and therefore the mind is what we are more attracted too…you have a lot of unique qualities in your character which make you very attractive as well as appealing to a lot of the more hormonal males of the household…" L stood up and walked over toward the door.

"Reject listen, I have a called to take, I promise I'll be back later and we'll do something fun er…something, please relax and take it easy" and so he left leaving Reject alone to think about the events that had occurred in the past few hours.

She took deep breath and looked out the window, it was beginning to snow. Then she remembered the letter from this morning and she walked across the room and found it sitting on the table where L had left it.

She eagerly picked up the letter and opened it, but upon reading it her jaw dropped…

…it was from Near.

_Dear Reject._

_I hope you read this as it was difficult to find the words to write it, but any way, I would like to apologize for my behavior, I don't know what came over me. Surely you've notice these last past few days you have not seen me, it is because I've been trying to avoid you, I thought I could trust myself around you, but now I can't…something is wrong with me Reject and until I figure out what it is I need you to stay away from me…for your own safety…I'll contact you again soon when I find out more but for now please stay with L._

_Yours Sincerely; Near _

_P.S. What ever you do, DON'T COME LOOKING FOR ME, I don't want it to happen again…_


	19. Chapter 19

Behind white walls of dice 19

"…_I've brushed with death so many times, I should start giving him high-fives every time I pass…"_

Reject ran through the halls frantically searching everywhere, in every room, class and dark corner but still no luck. After running for another hour she ran into, or rather was snatched up by Matt and Mello, whom after grabbing her pulled her aside.

"ReRe what's going on with you? You've been running around the house like a mad-women on an espresso, what's going on" Mello asked with a look of concern clearly being shown on his face.

"I'm trying to find Near, I think he's going to do something terrible" Reject replied sounding rather anxious. Mello stared at her for a few moments before his face suddenly turned into a scowl.

"ReRe…whatever Near is doing, forget about him, you know that little pervert has caused you nothing but pain from the time you came back here" Mello replied angrily, Matt's expression on the other hand looked slightly concerned but still didn't seem to care.

Reject got frustrated and ran off to keep looking, checking every possible location. She kept frantically dashing around until quite suddenly she felt a hand grip her shoulder forcing her to stop. She turned to find Matt standing behind her showing a considerable amount of concern in his now solid green eyes.

"Are you going to help me" Reject asked sounding desperate.

"Why are you going to all this trouble for him, he's not worth it and you know it" The redhead answered sounding dead serious. Reject sighed and turned away from him.

"You don't understand, it's not his fault, something is wrong with him mentally"

"How can you be so sure?"

Reject reached into her pocket and pulled out the letter and handed it to Matt. He stared at it blankly before looking up again sharing the same panicked look as Reject.

"This is bad"

"I know, what do we do?"

"I have an idea where he might be, but we have to hurry, if he's doing what I think he's doing we might not have a lot of time"

A silver headed boy slowly walked up a flight of stairs. He new exactly where he was going and it would only be a matter of time till he arrived. The walls of the stairway were dark and patterns in the wallpaper were caked with dust and cobwebs.

At the top of the stairs there was a door that the albino paused at and taking a deep breath he opened it. Bright light blinded the albino as he stepped out on what appeared to be a flattened rooftop.

An iron railing like fixture encircled the flattened area as if provide some form of safety, but that did very little in the way of it as Near went straight to the end and stepped over it and sat right on the edge of the roof.

He looked down at the ground that lay 3 stories below, he thought about how small and insignificant it looked…and how small and insignificant he was.

_"So…you gonna jump?"_

"…"

_"You can't keep ignoring me Near"_

"…"

_"Fine be like that…I guess you'll never know then"_

"Know what?"

_"Ha! Got ya!"_

Near let out a groaned of irritation then he stood up, stepped back over the railing and walked to the middle of the roof to lie down. Though the concrete was dreadfully uncomfortable, he found looking up at the dusk lit sky relaxing.

"I thought she was my enemy at first…I thought she was just a criminal given special treatment…I thought I hated her since she was defiant so I thought I should put her in her place…but that night that I violated her I realized…I had fallen in love with her…I didn't hate her…I hated myself…"

"…And when she disappeared I found that I couldn't stop thinking about her…I tired myself out because I was so worried about her…I felt guilty for what I did to her but I didn't know what to do…these emotions where so new to me because I had never actually experienced them…and when I finally found her I felt overjoyed to find that she was alright, but still confused about what I was feeling…"

"…I left her to her own devices for a while so I could deal with my own problems…at first I thought I resolved them…but when I came across her one day coming out of the kitchen…I panicked…and what was worse is I think she was still frightened of me because she turned and ran away…I felt awful after that…"

"…but nothing could possible prepare me for when L considered adding her to the lineup for his position…I couldn't believe how angry I was…I was angry that L picked an unfit candidate and jealous of the fact that she was automatically getting a chance for the position…a position that the others and I had earned…but I guess I real reason I was so upset…was because I afraid she was better then me"

"…her skills in mathematics was equal to mine…feared she would surpass me…it was a foolish mistake to have said that because as a result she got hurt…L didn't hold me responsible but still I knew it was my fault…"

"…and from that point on I promised I wouldn't let anything else happen to her…even if I was heart broken when she told me she was still madly in love with that blood-thirsty monster, Beyond, I accepted my responsibility as her protector…but in the end even if I could protect her from others there was no way I could protect her from myself…"

"… I completely lost it, but I couldn't help myself …she was so beautiful…so enticing…I wanted her…I needed her…I needed her in my arms…and by the time I had come to my senses it was too late…Roger had barged into the room and without thinking I sold her out… the one I love I simply threw away out of fear of ruining my own reputation…Beyond isn't a monster…I am"

_"so…what do you plan on doing now"_ the annoying voice inside his head asked. Near remained silent, he did not want to encourage his inner demons any longer with how they had made him behave.

_"Still ignoring me…personally I thought you might have had a shot with that cock tease Reject"_

"She will never willingly love me"

_"ah ah ah…the keyword in that sentence is 'willingly', she can still love you"_

"So you're suggesting I should force her to love me?"

_"I see nothing wrong with it"_

Near let out a heavy sigh before rolling over on to his side. This was not a normal thing to have a voice inside your head, he didn't deny to himself but he would never admit it to anyone else, for they would never understand. The voice inside his head…was the real him.

Emotions and feeling that Near had locked away had taken on a personality of their own and were trying desperately to take hold of him in anyway it possibly could, in a way this separate persona was the old him, the him that thought with his feeling instead of his mind, the him that was misguided and foolish.

"I could never do that to her" Near replied to his inner self before getting on his feet again and walking toward the edge of the roof once more. He stepped over the iron railing and back on to the edge of the roof, standing with his back to the fence gripping it for support.

_"Near…what are you doing?"_

"…"

_"Near if you're doing what I think you're doing then I have an obligation to prevent you from doing so"_

"Obligate all you want you cannot stop me"

_"Maybe…but what about Reject?…how do you think it will effect her…or how about L, you're his heir…and Roger, you know he reminds you of his lost son"_

"…"

_"Well?"_

"…They are…irrelevant"

_"Funny… you didn't think Reject was irrelevant while you fucking her into the wall a few months ago" _

"…"

_"Come on Near, I know you still have feelings for her"_

"So what if I do, its not going to change the situation, as you seem to forget she will never love me"

_ "And how do you know that…you know just before the ball do you remember how she acted when you gave her your mother's memento…how she thanked and gave you that hug, and that was after you raped her" _

"She may have forgiven me once but I highly doubt that she would ever forgive me again…it was foolish of me to use her the way that I did…"

_"You don't know unless you try" _

"No…I never try…I either do or do not…there is no try"

Near stepped closer to the edge, hanging on to the iron railing with one hand he leaned forward slightly over the drop.

_"Near…don't do this" _

"Why?...Why should I listen to you? All you ever do is cloud my thoughts, make it impossible to think and force me to commit terrible acts"

_"Hey, that wasn't me Near…those were your desires…I just gave them a little nudge" _

"And you know what…I don't think you really care…the only reason you are objecting to me doing this is because it will kill you as well…"

_"…"_

"As I expected…when faced with something you can't argue against, you always go silent"

Near looked back down at the ground below, the several that lawn fixtures jutted up from the grass looked incredibly dangerous, so much so that Near had thoughts about how painful the impact would be, but never the less he quickly dismissed them as he prepared himself for his inevitable end.

"This…is it, there's no going back…I'm sorry, but I cannot live if I know I'll be hurting someone else…especially her" Near said softly feeling a sudden pain in his stomach from the butterflies, and it really was no surprise that he was afraid, but as he was just about to let go the door burst open Reject and Matt stepped out.

"…Reject?"

"NEAR!" Reject ran over to where the albino hung from his finger tips right on the edge of the roof.

"…S-stay back!" Near stuttered gripping the iron rail behind him with one hand, threatening to let go at any second.

"Near, please don't do this, there's no reason for it" Reject said frantically inching herself closer to where the albino stood. Near backed off a few inches trying to stay away from her.

"S-stay away from me!...I have to do this"

"No you don't Near, this isn't like you…you don't give in this easily"

"No I don't…its different this time…I can't trust myself anymore"

"Nonsense, c'mere Ne-"

"STAY BACK!" Near shouted letting go with one hand as if to make a point that he was serious. Reject paused staring at the albino with a confused look, clearly she didn't know what to do but soon her eyes sunk down to the ground.

"…so that's how it is…" Reject said quietly moving to the other end of the roof.

"Reject…what are you doing?"

"…I'm doing what needs to be done…" she answered quietly before turning to Matt and whispering something to him. Near could not hear them but it was clear from Matt's expressions that he did not agree with what Reject was talking about and soon he left leaving both Reject and Near alone on the roof.

"So…what is the real reason you're doing this?" Reject asked staring at Near from behind her spinach green bangs.

"…Reject…I'm dangerous…"

"So, I collaborated with a serial killer whom I have fallen madly in love with and would probably put this house in danger just to be by his side again, your point"

"No that's not what I mean…what I mean is…I don't want to hurt you…it would kill me inside if I hurt you…and besides I'm useless in this house anyway"

"Useless?"

"…yes, useless…through out the time I've spent here I've strived to be nothing but the best…completing every task given without question and without mistake…continuously pushing for perfection, and you know what…I'm tired of it…I grow wary of being perfect…my flawlessness is a flaw in itself and the is something I can't live with…and to make it even more unbearable…I'm alone…"

"…Near…"

"So you see why I must do this…I can't live knowing that I have these flaws and I especially can't live with knowing I'm hurting you"

"Near…"

"Yes Reject?"

"…YOU FUCKING MORON!"

"!"

"You idiot! You're killing yourself because you're not perfect in every way? That is the stupidest reason I've ever heard!" Reject shouted walking to the edge of the roof and leaning against the railing.

"Really…interesting…so your response to someone committing suicide is to yell and cause a scene" Near responded calmly to which Reject just rolled her eyes at him.

"Near…this is pointless…you are not useless…I mean, look at me, I'm a pathetic cowered who dresses like man who has a criminal record and is dumber then a bag of sand"

"Reject…"

"So what I like math, that doesn't mean that I'm any good at it, mean hell I don't even check my answers…and also I'm currently failing Sociology and English and I'm just barely keeping up with all my other classes…so I really don't understand why there's a big fuss over me when it's painfully clear the I'm really not worth it"

"Reject"

"I mean jeez, if you wanted to kill yourself because you can't handle the abuse from the other orphans then I could understand…I wouldn't have let you go through with it but at least I would understand"

"…Reject"

"And also you are not hurting me Near…you're not hurting me anymore then anyone else has and any intentional pain you've caused me is nothing compared what I had to go through with Beyond…I mean, he almost killed me at one point…I'm a bit of a masochist so its ok…"

Near stared at the green haired girl from his place at the edge of the roof, by the way his face contorted it shown that he was clearly conflicted with what Reject was saying but soon he gave in and calmly stepped over the railing and started walking toward Reject.

"Thank you for at least listening to me"

"I'm not doing this because of what you said…I'm doing this because I cannot stand to see you degrade yourself"

"Well, my mother didn't name me Reject for nothing…c'mon Near let's go back insi-"

**_ Screeeeeeeech!_**

"Reject…what was that?"

"That was either the cries of the damned or this railing is about to-"

**_ CLANK!_**

Just before Reject could finish the big iron railing she was leaning against suddenly collapsed behind her and she fell backward off the roof.

"Aaaaaaghh!"

"REJECT!"

Without thinking Near dove toward the falling Reject and just barely managed to catch her by the wrist.

"…Near"

"Don't…worry…I got you" Near grunted grabbing Reject's other hand and pulling her up and back on to the roof. Reject flopped down onto her back feeling winded and tired out from the sudden ordeal.

"Reject…"

"Yeah"

"I'm so sorry"

"Don't be"

"Why?"

"Near I've brushed with death so many times it just doesn't phase me anymore…so there's absolutely no reason for you to be guilty" and with that said Reject stood up.

"Well all this excitement has made me hungry, I think I'm gonna mosey on down to the kitchen and get me a nice big jar of peanut butter" and with that said she went on her way. Near waited for her to leave before finally getting up and dusting himself off.

"Reject…you are one of the most outrageous and unbelievable people I have ever met…but I guess that's why I like you…"

It was very late when Reject finished her work. Because she spent most of the day running around looking for Near she skipped out on her chores and Roger nagged her about it. She went back to finish it but not to keep Roger happy, she did it because it was her responsibility and she did not like slacking out on a job, even if it was after hours.

She quietly made her way back to L's room. When she arrived she was surprised to find L still awake and…packing?

"Ah, there you are Reject I was beginning to get worried, how was your day today?" L asked stuffing a suitcase with jeans.

"Tiring, so where are you heading off to?" Reject asked sitting down on the bed beside the detective.

"To Japan, I have a new high profile case that is a little bit more difficult then normal" L replied casually tossing a bag of assorted candy into his suitcase.

"Oh really, something is actually too hard for the great L to solve, how so?" Reject teased throwing her trench coat off and lying down on her stomach.

"Yes even a great detective has limits, but there is no crime I cannot solve" L finished packing his suit case and carried it over to the door before turning to Reject again.

"But still…there is something about this case…it's not something that can easily be explained…even if I try to make any logical sense of it there's too many inconsistencies that it wont all add up"

"Wait, what's so baffling about this case?" Reject asked tilting her head to one side curiously. L walked over to the bed and sat down then he pulled his laptop out and started typing. After about a minute L turned the laptop over to Reject to look at.

"Hmmmm I can understand why you are a little bit frustrated, these deaths are extremely bazaar…Hmmm all heart attacks eh?...very interesting…" Reject mused before handing the laptop back to L.

"So what is your input on these strange occurrences?"

"Well, according to the information you've shown me, all of the victims died of heart attacks, all of the victims were criminals that were either held in captivity or have not been convicted, times between the deaths of the criminals sits between 2-4 seconds and that's not even the really strange part"

"Really, then what is?"

"The really strange part is I can't identify anything that could possibly be a murder weapon…its not a poison, the deaths are too precise to be that and even if it was there's no way that the majority of prisoners would die almost at the exact same time with merely a 2 second difference between them"

"That maybe true but if they were all poisoned at exactly the same time?"

"That also would not work, not ever person is built the same way…everyone's metabolism is different so even if they were all poisoned at exactly the same time their bodies would metabolize it faster or slower depending on their body type"

L paused for a moment but then after a minute he bared a rare but genuine smile.

"And that, Reject, is why you are more then worthy of joining the line up for my position" L said taking Reject by the hand before giving it a respectful shake.

"…How did I know that was a test?"

"Perhaps it's because I think you generally knew that I had already gone through and came to the same conclusion that you had just deduced" L replied letting go of her hand.

"Well L…as nice as is for you to offer me this…I unfortunately have to decline"

"Really...Why is that?"

"L…look at me…I'm no gifted orphan…I'm a normal orphan…I'm no detective…I'm a common criminal…I'm not a symbol of justice…I'm a janitor…I don't know what I'd do with the power of L"

"…Are you sure you don't this"

"Positive"

L stared at the young girl trying to read her expressions but in the end one could tell that he could see not a spec of deceit within her face.

"Very if that it what you truly desire…" L said pulling back the bed sheets and climbing in and letting out a deep tired yawn.

"Lets call it a night Reject, I need to get up early tomorrow so I don't miss my flight"

"Miss your flight? L you have a private jet how can you miss it?"

"It's not the point Reject, it's the principle of it"

"Whatever, good night L"

"Good night Reject…hope your dreams grant you some opinions of success"

"…"

_"They always do L"_


	20. Chapter 20

Behind white walls of dice 20

_"You are weak…your heart will explode…"_

It was a year and a half later after L had left and the house still stood, and Reject still remained in that house the same as she always been. Over time Reject had grown both in body and in wisdom, almost becoming a mentor for a lot of the much younger orphans. But even when she is wise beyond her years, she will always find herself jumping at shadows.

And these shadows were becoming more and more common as time went on and soon Reject had an eerie feeling that something was very wrong, as if someone or something of unknown origin was heeding a warning of some form.

Every now and then Reject would find herself feeling lonely or upset and so she would sneak down into the basement and watch Beyond sleep. And with a little fiddling with the key pad to the door she managed to get into his cell just to be close to him.

It was stupid and dangerous but she didn't care, he was everything to her and with L gone, she now felt more alone then ever.

A few months later Reject found herself sweeping down one of the many halls of the house when suddenly just as she was passing by one of the large windows she saw someone standing out in the courtyard.

As she turned to look she had to cover her mouth in order to keep herself from gasping from shock. She could not believe what she was seeing, there, standing out in the courtyard was none other then L.

She felt overjoyed that he had come back having not been home in a long time. She just about to dash down to tell the others when she took another look, and upon second glance she soon realized that something was off about him.

For starters wasn't with him, which in itself is rather strange as the old man would rarely ever leave the detective's side. Another thing she noticed right away was that he looked a lot paler then normal with a slight pale blue tinge that could barely be seen.

His eye's had also changed. They looked darker and more sunken, almost as if they belonged to a…dead person.

Reject swallowed hard and tried not to think that it could even be possible, but as she looked again she saw something else…he was looking right at her…as if he knew that she could see him.

At this point Reject couldn't deny it any longer, she knew what had become of him and now there was no going back, no stopping the tears that ran like an endless flood down her face.

Hearing footsteps coming down the hall, she quickly had to wipe the tears away before anyone could see her. It was the three heirs making their way down the hall with Mello occasionally taking shots at the albino.

"H-hey guys, you're in a hurry, what's going on?" Reject asked, quickly hiding the fact that she was crying moments ago.

"Roger called us down for a meeting" Mello replied stuffing his hands in his pockets while still grinning teasingly at the silver headed boy beside him.

"A meeting? What's it about?"

"No clue, but he said it was urgent so we'll see ya later ReRe" Mello said before walking past her and taking another jab at the lumbering albino next to him.

"Ok, see ya" Reject replied, but just as she went back to sweeping someone grabbed her wrist. She turned to see Matt giving her a very worried look.

"What is it Matt?"

"Are you feeling ok Reject?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, why?"

"You're hiding something Reject, and I can tell"

"Really, what makes you think that?"

"Why are you crying?"

Reject was confuse until she touched her face and found it still damp from the tears she thought she had wiped away moments ago. Then suddenly she found herself being lead down the hall, Matt, though silent was walking along side of her with his arm around her waist.

They both entered the darkened parking garage and headed straight to the silver Mazda in the back. Matt opened the back door to the car and allowed Reject to go in first and get comfortable. The redhead soon after followed her inside closing the door behind him and climbed on top of her.

They would end up doing this every time either of them was upset, whether it was the cruelty of someone else or whether they were feeling lonely and/or frustrated and needed some form of release, but there was one catch to it.

Matt finished and sat up on the seat beside Reject, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it and taking a long drag from it before turning to face the green headed girl next to him wearing a gentle smile.

"I love you" Matt said softly leaning over to kiss her on the temple. Reject would always remain silent to this. It wasn't to hurt him, she just didn't want to lie to him. After giving Matt a peck on the cheek she stepped out of the car and gave her muscles a stretch.

"Hmmmm that was nice" Reject sighed contently seeing her gamer friend step out from the car as well. Then the two both almost simultaneously pulled out their gameboys and began to play what appeared to be Pokemon, another habit they had gotten into after they had been intimate in some way.

"Yeah, thanks for lending me your Alakazam after the battle, do you want it back once I beat Hal with it"

"Naw, you keep it, I can always just level another Kadabra"

"Sweet! Thanks Re-Re! You're the bes-"

**_Beep! Beep! Beep!_**

Matt quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device.

"Crap! Roger alert!"

"Already way ahead of you Matt" Reject replied walking over to a near by supply closet.

"Ok Leeroy, it's your time to shine" Reject said putting on her rubber gloves and reaching into a cage, pulling out a fairly large possum, that had immediately went limp as she was holding it.

Just then the door to the garage opened and Roger walked in looking tired with a somewhat displease look on his face.

"What are you two doing in here? And what is that smell?"

"Sorry Roger, 'nother possum got in the garage again and died" Reject replied casually holding up the small animal by the tail to which it continued to hang limply pretending to be dead.

"Again? That's the second time this week, well could you please discreetly remove it R, and as for you Mr. Jeevas, you missed the meeting, go see either Near or Mello so you may be informed of the current events"

And with that the old man turned and left leaving both the redheaded gamer and the green headed misfit in the garage. A few seconds later the Possum had sprung to life and had crawled up Reject's arm and on to her shoulder.

"He's really grown fond of you hasn't he" The Redheaded gamer commented watching the docile marsupial curl up and seemingly fall asleep on the green haired janitor's shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess you can blame Timber for that, he was the one who gave him to me" Reject replied pulling the animal off her shoulder and carefully placing it back in the cage and turning back to her redheaded friend.

"I should probably go see Mello and get him to tell me about the meeting"

"Mind if I tag along? I'm rather curious is to what it was about, usually if it's a meeting pertaining to only the heirs then it has to be important"

"Not really, usually it's just Roger scolding us again for not living up to the expectations of L all because we skipped an assignment" Matt said walking out of the garage with Reject following closely.

It didn't take long for the 2 to run in to Mello who looked a little bit angrier then when they saw him this morning, but Matt still ran up to him.

"Hey Mello what's up, how did the meeting go-oof!"

Before Matt could finish Mello nudged him forcefully out of the way and walked by with without giving so much as a glance at either the redhead or the janitor.

"Mello what's the matter? Mello? Mello!" Matt followed frantically after his blond friend while coming down the other end of the hallway, Near walked slowly down the hall and stopped when he came within a foot of Reject.

"Near, what's going on?" Reject asked feeling worried that something had gone terribly wrong, and after her experience from earlier that day she feared the worst.

"Reject..." Near said quietly before leaning in toward her ear.

"…Meet me on the roof in 5 minutes…I have something of dire importance to share with you" and with that said the albino quickly walked off.

Reject stood there for a moment trying to figure out what was happening. First the strange encounter, then Mello acts strange now Near is asking to talk to her saying it's of "Dire" importance, now she was really getting worried and now confused.

000000000000

Reject cautiously walked up the stairs, a numb yet unsettling feeling weighing in the pit of her stomach heeding warnings of disappointment to which she had grown familiar with, yet despite the growing anxiety her feet still elevated her up the steep climb of the steps to the inevitable fate that awaited her at the top.

She stood hesitantly at the door, unsure of whether to continue and face whatever lay behind it or to walk away, whatever choice she makes could be life altering if she made the wrong decision.

Feeling that the latter of her choices wouldn't be the best action, she reached forward and grasped the knob and taking a deep breath, slowly turned it. Upon opening, flooding bright light blinded her and forcing her to step back a bit shielding her eyes.

"There you are...Reject…"

When she finally regained her vision, she saw the lumbering albino standing with his back to her gripping the railing lightly in his powdery hands. Reject, regaining the courage she had momentarily lost, took one step toward the albino and that was enough to give the momentum for another few steps till finally she stoop about a foot behind him, her head lowered to the point where she almost looked like a hunch-back.

The albino briefly took a breath before slowly turning to face Reject, who of course had taken an interest in her shoes.

"…You are approximately 5 minutes and 38 seconds late" Near stated with uncanny precision. Reject didn't respond to this and simply rolled her eyes to which Near sighed impatiently.

"What's going on Near? What's wrong with Mello and what happened at that meeting?" Reject shotgunned several questions at the Albino hoping for a response, to which Near simply reached forward with out saying a word and place a finger over the girl's mouth, effectively yet gently silencing her before turning to look out at the horizon once again.

"…It's gotten a lot colder this year, wouldn't you say?" Near commented, ignoring Reject's questions from before. Reject stood there looking a little confused, but still she nodded feeling she would probably be silenced again.

"Now…on to more important matters" Near started and turned back to Reject once more, whom was more confused than ever, but She was worried that pressing on the matter too much would yield fruitless results, so held her tongue patiently in hopes that her questions would eventually be answered.

"Do you know why you're here? And don't worry you are allowed to speak" Near asked expecting a reply from the girl before him. Reject paused a moment choosing her words carefully, like chess, she had to make the appropriate moves or she would take the king. Taking a deep breath she replied.

"Because you know something and I want to know, I need to know, and some how I feel that you are the only one with the answers I seek" Reject replied hoping that she had given him the correct answer. Near's face remained emotionless for a brief moment before a vague smile graced his lips.

"Very good my Reject" he said appraising the girl's intelligent answer as began to look up at the sky, eying the clouds as they flecked the afternoon horizon.

"It's beautiful isn't it, the autumn sky...with its crisp air and warm colors of yellow and gold and yet with such heated hues it doesn't hide the coming cold of winter…ah, winter a season locked in frozen death and decay…a season of sorrow and loneliness…a season that we are coming on to again…but something seems different, wouldn't you say Reject?"

"Well I guess so, but does this have to do with this situation?"

"EVERYTHING! You asked for the answers, so I am giving you them, you wish to know more about the current events, I am informing you, I'm taking time out of my busy schedule, putting my studying aside and I'm doing it all for you, please acknowledge what I am saying"

"Yes Near, I am sorry, please continue" Reject lowered her head obediently. She didn't understand why she was being compliant with the albino, surely it wasn't just the information that was forcing her to submit, but still she continued cooperate with him.

"Yes…something is different, something is missing…yes given it was already missing before but now something is different…even though it was missing it was suggested it would eventually return…as Timber wolf would put it 'even when birds fly south in the winter, they will always fly back in the spring'…but sometimes I feel the birds don't always fly back…some will always get lost along the way…and those never come back"

Near then lowered his gaze back down to the girl and took a step closer to her.

"I have a feeling you know how it feels to have nothing come back…to wait patiently for one who will never return…the loneliness the disappointment, it hurts doesn't it….iWalking alone at the hour when we are trembling with tenderness…lips that would kiss form prayers over broken stone…/i yes you remember that poem…it was the one I helped you write a report on…"

Near then took hold of one of Reject's clenched fist and began to massage the palm of it, smoothing out the tense muscles of each finger till her hand was limp within his grasp.

"Your hand...blistered and calloused from the work you do, and yet they are still soft…how is it you retain such perfection under such grueling pressure…how is it no matter how much you abuse yourself you remain unchanged…if I had the power I would give you a palace full luxury beyond your imagining…if I had the wealth I would shower you with riches beyond your wildest dreams, free to do as you please at your leisure…and all that I would ask in return as that you be mine…yes mine…mine own…my Reject"

"THAT'S ENOUGH NEAR!" Reject shouted impatiently, pushing the silver headed protégé away.

"Just tell me, what's happened to L?"

Near stared at her for a moment before lowering his eyes from view, a few seconds later a slight chuckling could be heard then suddenly the albino threw his head and shoulders back and a sharp and loud cackle echoed though the air sending chills down Reject's spine.

"Why ask what you already know" the albino replied his, face and tone of voice immediately returning to normal as if the brief episode of laughter had never occurred.

"What are you talking about Near?"

"Don't play dumb, you know the answer already, I saw how to looked this morning, paralyzed with disbelief looking out at the courtyard, trying desperately to hold back those tears…you know Reject, I know you do"

"But I don't know if it's the truth Near, I don't know if what I saw was even real, I've always checked first before trusting my gut"

"And why do you do that"

"Because intuition is always prone to error…I can't just go on instinct alone"

"That is not the real answer…give me your real reason for not believing it"

"…It's because…I'm hoping that I'm wrong…I don't want to face this, I'm not ready, I don't want to know, I'm afraid of it"

Near paused staring down at the girl, whose eyes began to well with tears. The albino calmly tried to wipe them away but Reject just pushed hand from her face in defiance, and with the he stepped backward away from her, acknowledging that she needed some space. Near turn his back to Reject again, staring at the horizon.

"…Reject…L…is dead…" Near concluded, and that was all it took. Reject, bawling profusely turn and ran off the roof, back through the door where she came. Near didn't respond, he just continued to stare off into the distance, his soft paled hands still grasping the cold steel of the rail.

"Yes…the bird has gotten lost along the way…and he will never come back…"

00000000000000

Reject ran though the court yard, running between the many twisting hedgerows until she came to a cemetery. She walked carefully and calmly from this point, avoiding the operant gazes from the many ghosts that bickered quarreled amongst them selves.

She found the old empty tomb and sat down inside it and proceeded to weep softly. A few spirits noticed this unfortunately and had drifted in to investigate.

_"Is she all right?" _

_ "Who cares, she's trespassing" _

_"Oh don't be like that, the poor dear probably lost someone"  
_

_ "It was probably someone she really care about…she really looks like hell man" _

"Will all of you please SHUT UP!" Reject shouted in annoyance at the many ghosts pestering her. A lot of the surrounding spirits had gone quiet; probably stunned at the fact that she could see them. It was then one ghost far in the back had noticed the commotion and had floated in to investigate, to which Reject discovered to be .

_"Oh, Miss R, fancy seeing you here, I wasn't anticipating that you would arrive this early" _

"Mr Wammy? what are you doing here? how did you die?"

_"Oh it's a long story and I'll tell you more later, but right now you need to come with me, L wishes to see you"_

"Come with you? why? what's going on? why would L want to see me?"

_"Well he would have sent for one of the heirs but since he and I a current living impaired they wouldn't be able to see us let alone communicate with them, but luckily you are gifted with suck abilities so L had told me when night had come around to bring you to him, I'm sure he won't mind you coming a little early" _

"Wait a minute, how would he send you to me? Did he know I could see ghosts? What is going on?"

_"please R, save your questions for later, right now I must bring you to L" _

And with that the old man motioned for the young girl to follow him, and Reject readily complied quickly following after him and ignoring the snide comments from the ghosts behind her. The 2 of them traveled to the far edge of the cemetery to the top of a hill where an unmarked headstone was set beneath an apple tree.

There squatting on the headstone, was L and leaning up against a tree was also A. A slight toothy grin was splayed across the dead protégé's face as soon as her noticed Reject's arrival.

_"'ello Reject, you weren't supposed to come until midnight"_

"Well sort of dragged me up here" Reject shrugged before turning to L who stared expectantly at her with the same cold dead eyes as before.

_"Reject…please come with me"_ iL said, stepping down from the stone and vaguely gesturing the girl to follow him. L, unlike A or Watari, had chosen to walk as apposed to flying, Reject had wondered if it was out of normalcy or sheer defiance of being dead that made him want to keep his feet planted on the ground, but then again this is L and none of his made any sense.

They both stopped at what appeared to be an old gazebo, in there were a bench that L had immediately taken a seat at. Reject followed suit, sitting next to the deceased detective.

"L, what's happened?"

_"I was killed...I am now dead"_

"Well Yeah, I know that but how? Who killed you?" Reject asked hoping for an answer from the great detective. L paused taking a moment to nibble his ghostly thumb before finally giving a sufficient answer.

_"I…was killed by Kira" _

The next few years would involve more pain and treachery then Reject will ever encounter…and she will only have one to blame…


End file.
